The Author
by Skitzoeinhoven
Summary: Something precious was stolen from both Rumple and Belle by Arthur and now he wants them to come back to Storybrooke to retrieve it. Rumple and Belle must leave their Happy Ending and face the magic again to help Henry find Storybrooke's happy endings. Sequel to "Lily". AU to what I had wanted to see for Rumbelle in S4.
1. Arthur

… _ **New York City, 7 Years Later…**_

"Papa!" cried out an excited little girl with hazel eyes and brown hair. She stormed into her parents' bedroom five o'clock early that morning still wearing her pj's. The sun wasn't even up and the little's girl's energy could be felt in full force, "Papa, papa, Come on Papa, we gotta go. Get up!"

She nearly tripped over her father's dress shoes as she climbed up eagerly onto her parents' bed. Belle stirred a little beneath her husband's arms which were still wrapped around her. With a groggy voice Belle said to him, "Your daughter is awake."

The daughter continued in her playful provocation in an almost song-like tune, ignoring the exchange of murmured words between her parents, "Pop-pop-pop-pop-papa!"

Rumple groaned back to his wife with eyes still closed, "Before sunrise she's your daughter."

"Come on Papa!" Lily said, tumbling onto her father. She lost her footing and began to quickly fall off their bed. Lily let out a small gasp, "Woah!" when suddenly her father grabbed her, catching her in time before her feet had a chance to hit the floor.

"Hmm, like mother like daughter," remarked Rumplestiltskin, turning onto his back with a smile as he lifted his daughter back onto their bed.

Lily leaned over onto her father's belly and with hands on his chest peered closely into her father's face. He cracked open his eyes and saw reflected back to him a miniature version of Belle. It wasn't until he noticed Lily's slightly angry eyes that he saw himself as she said to him, "Hey, you promised! We had a deal!"

"Alright, alright, alright. You're right. I'm up, I'm up, I'm up," Rumple repeated trying to reassure his daughter. He gave out a yawn as he slowly sat up in bed.

"What on Earth did you promise her?"

"Nothing, just some father-daughter stuff. Don't worry. We'll be right back."

"Hurry up Papa, or we're gonna miss it!"

"What are you doing hurrying me for? You're still in your pajamas."

"Oh," Lily said looking down at her attire. "Right." She immediately hopped off of their bed and stampeded back toward her bedroom.

They both quickly got dressed; Lily in a cute long-sleeved top and leggings and Rumple in his usual dress slacks and dress shirt. Belle got up with the rest of her family and shuffled her way towards the kitchen to start on breakfast. She saw the two make their way toward the exit when she stopped them. "Woah! Unh uh! Where's your jacket?" she asked, looking directly at her daughter.

"I've… uh…" stammered Lily looking wildly around for a coat of some sort when her father plucked her jacket from off the coat rack and handed it to her. "I've got my jacket Mama," said Lily as if she had it with her the entire time, quickly procuring jacket from her father.

Rumple smirked as he leaned upon his cane, opening the front door for his daughter to their condominium home. He looked over at Belle and assured, "We'll be back. I promise." Closing the door and following after his excited daughter.

… …

The father and daughter slowly climbed the emergency stairwell all the way to the top of the roof. As soon as they emerged from the exit, Lily turned to her father, "Ok. Now can you show me magic?"

"Be patient. It's coming shortly. Turn around," instructed Rumple pointing at the sky behind her. Just as Lily turned around a golden orange beam hit the clouds cascading it's sunlight onto the many buildings below and causing them to sparkle. It was an absolutely gorgeous sight to behold and it nearly took Lily's breath away. She approached the edge of the rooftop with her mouth ajar, resting her arms on the solid perimeter as she continued gazing at the sun rising.

"It's beautiful, but it's just a sunrise," Lily remarked slightly disappointed. "I thought you were going to show me something magical."

"This is magical. Not many people get to see the sun rise. You see, it's not just any sunrise. The sun holds onto our dreams and our happiness, that's why it's always warm, giving, bright and hopeful." Rumple came up behind his daughter and hung his protective hand over her shoulder as they stared at the sunrise together. "And even though the sun sets and disappears in front of you, you must believe that it will rise again. That's where the magic is because magic is fueled by hope and without hope, you're lost. The first step to understanding magic is to know that it exists, you just have to know where to look."

… …

Both Rumplestiltskin and Lily came back home to find breakfast already prepared. They followed their morning routine as usual. They all ate breakfast together and when Belle asked where they went off to, Lily replied, "We watched the sunrise."

As soon as breakfast was over, Belle scooted Lily along to her bedroom to get ready for school and by then Rumple would finish reading the newspaper downing the last few drops of his cup of coffee. He'd collect the morning dishes and set them into the dishwasher to be cleaned. By the time he was done with that he'd take over getting Lily ready, making sure she had all the materials she needed for school that day. Belle would quickly get ready to work at NYU's school library. Lily waited for her parents to get ready, plucking a book from the large library of books they had in the living room area and plopped herself on the couch to read.

Rumple arrived back to their bedroom to finish getting ready to work at a nearby Pawn Shop he would walk to every day. He slung a tie around his neck and limped over to the mirror to see himself more clearly to tie it when Belle stepped forward. "Allow me," she said with a smile. He faced her and reciprocated the smile. "So…" she began to say as she started the Windsor knot.

"So…" he repeated back.

"…when are you going to take me on one of your adventures?"

"What do you mean? Last year we went to Sydney and the year before that we went to France."

"No, I mean… little excursions like you do with Lily."

"You mean, like a date?"

"Well, yeah. Just the other day, at the Parent Teacher Conference, I met another mother and her daughter Samantha is in the same class as Lily. I'm sure if I give her a call, she could watch Lily for a night while we went out… Just you and me?"

"That would be nice," he said with an elated grin.

"There…" Belle remarked finishing the knot. "Perfect," she said as she smoothed out his vest.

He lifted up his arms resting his hands over hers and leaned forward giving her a peck. "Just like you," he replied. She leaned forward placing her lips delicately on his prolonging the second kiss.

… …

Two-thirty came and Belle promptly left the school's library to pick up her daughter at the elementary school nearby. As soon as they parked in front of their condominium, Lily led the way back to their home. Like clock-work, Lily would toss her bookbag at the entranceway and run ahead of Belle into the home. Along the way, she would grab the book by the couch she was reading from earlier that morning and perch herself by the living room's bay window. It was the perfect place to watch for her father as he walked the familiar path home from work. So she sat there reading, looking up every so often for her father to come into her view.

Belle looked on admirably, crossing her arms with amusement as she observed her daughter reading. "What game shall you and your father play this time when he gets home?"

She looked up and suddenly Lily saw her father round the corner of the adjacent building, making his way toward their direction. Upon seeing her father, Lily let out an excited gasp, dropping the book that was on her lap and ran immediately into her bedroom. Without answering her mother, Lily grabbed the Native American headband she made at school and placed it on her head running past her.

After noticing her daughter's new attire, Belle confirmed to herself, "Ah… Pirates and Indians."

By the time Lily came to the front door her father opened the front door. She unsheathed a toy sword from the umbrella stand nearby and pointed it directly at her father, "Halt! You're entering the sacred land of my people. You must fight your way to earn your entrance!"

Rumplestiltskin smiled and then on cue, fell perfectly into character, accent and all. "Aargh!" he cried out with exaggeration, falling to his knees to stand at her level. He lifted his cane and held it like a sword playing along with her. "Don't you know who I am? I'm the Dreaded Pirate Roberts," Rumple said with flamboyant gestures, "my looks alone bring most foes to their knees, but I see that you are unaffected by its' allure."

Belle looked on listening to the banter and chuckled with amusement at her husband. Rumplestiltskin looked up at his wife briefly and continued, "My dearest Princess Tiger Lily, forgive me for trespassing upon your land. Won't you grant me passage just this once? I'm afraid my beloved has caught something dreadful."

"Dare I ask, what illness has she fallen prey to?" Lily asked, tapping her plastic sword against his cane a few times.

"I'm afraid…" he said taking a grandiose pause from the innocent sword fighting to touch his chest, "…she has caught… _The Giggles._ " Belle's laughter echoed the hallway as she looked on. "As you can see," he pleaded with Lily, "I'm afraid it's quite serious."

"How will you save her?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well, I'm going to…" Rumple said, dropping his cane and quickly grabbing his daughter, bringing her in for a ferocious hug, "take her by surprise! And then I'm going to kiss her… like this." Rumple then demonstrated his remedy by picking up his daughter and lacing her face with kisses.

"Aargh! Papa! Stop, stop, stop! Okay Ok! I grant you safe passage."

After setting his daughter down, he hobbled over to Belle and greeted her with a kiss, "Hello dear. How was your day?"

"Good, I um, learned a new computer program today at the library. You know, I think I'm actually getting the hang of it."

"Well that's good. Sounds like progress." He looked around and slapped his hands together, rubbing them together as he asked, "Any thoughts about what we're gonna have for dinner?"

"Not really. I was going to wait till you got home to decide."

"No matter," he said waving his hand, "I'm sure I can whip up something for all of us."

Belle gathered Lily's bookbag by the door and they worked on her homework together while Rumple worked his culinary magic in the kitchen. Dinner was made and they sat together at the table discussing events of their day. When dinner was over, Rumple collected the dishes to clean. Belle read a book while overseeing Lily's bath. Belle flipped a page in her book as Lily splashed some water around in the tub. "Mama?"

"Yes, my love," Belle said looking up from her book.

"Could you read to me ' _Beauty and the Beast'_ tonight? There's something I want to double-check because a girl in my class was telling me about the movie version of it and I told her that that's not what happened in the book."

"Of course. I'll be happy to," said Belle gladly.

After the bath, Lily readied herself for bedtime and Belle searched the bookshelf. Rumple finished cleaning the dishes and dried his hands with the towel. As he stood in the kitchen he smiled to himself, listening to Belle recount their tale to their daughter. However wrong the tale from this world depicted their lives, he strangely appreciated it. It was another life and the removal from magic made him glad he was rid of it. He was able to distance himself from the nightmare he once was. He tossed the towel onto the counter and slowly walked over to Lily's bedroom, listening ever so intently.

"… 'Beast had disappeared, and she saw, at her feet, one of the loveliest Princes that eye ever beheld, who returned her thanks for having put an end to the charm, under which he had so long resembled a Beast'… 'Beauty,' said the lady from her dreams, 'come and receive the reward of your judicious choice; you have preferred virtue before either wit or beauty, and deserve to find a person in whom all these qualifications are united; you are going to be a great Queen,' and with the stroke of the fairy's wand all that were in the hall were transported into the Prince's palace. His subjects received him with joy; he married Beauty, and lived with her many years; and their happiness, as it was founded on virtue, was complete. The End," said Belle to her daughter as they laid side-by-side on her bed. As Belle closed the book, she looked up and saw Rumplestiltskin hovering in the doorway, leaning against the door frame.

He smiled amorously at the two when Lily asked, "Mama?"

"Yes?"

"How did you and Papa meet? Was it like this fairy tale?"

Rumple entered the room and answered for Belle. "My dear..." he said, coming forward and sitting down at the end of her bed, "… this story speaks volumes in more ways than you realize. Not just to our relationship, but to others as well. That's why this story has transcended time and space. Everyone can relate to it on some level."

"How did you and Mama meet? What happened?" wondered Lily. Rumplestiltskin paused looking over at Belle, who returned his look with a blush. Speechless, Belle leaned over and kissed Lily on the head. She got up from the bed, taking the book with her and turned waiting for Rumple to respond. Rumple scooted closer to his daughter, "That…" he said taking Lily's comforter and tucking her in, "…is another story for another night."

Rumplestiltskin bid his daughter goodnight and turned off her light. He carefully closed her door so as to not disturb her and found that Belle was watching him from the couch on the other side of the room.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Nothing… I just… today was literally the happiest day of my life." Belle reflected as she stared down at the book in her hands. "One day… we're going to have to tell her the truth. About us. About who we are and where we came from. She deserves to know."

"I know, but today…" said Rumple as he hobbled over to his wife by the couch. "…is not that day."

"Sooner rather than later, I hope?" she replied as they got up and readied themselves for bed.

… …

A scream pierced the night. Not just any scream, a little girl's scream. _Their_ little girl… Lily. Belle sat up straight in bed and called out to her husband in a fearful whisper, "Rumple! Rumple! An Intruder! Lily!"

Rumple immediately got out of bed and grabbed a special key from his bedside drawer. He quickly unlocked a special hidden compartment containing a hand gun and grabbed it. "Rumple?!" Belle said in fear.

"Stay here. Keep covered," he ordered calmly and seriously. He limped toward their bedroom door and quickly opened it, brandishing his gun first. He exited the bedroom and checked every corner of the condo, turning lights on as he went. He looked around… nothing.

"Belle!" called out Rumple, but the way his voice quivered at the end…

Belle came out from their bedroom and rushed over to find Rumple had fallen to his knees in their daughter's bedroom. "Lily!" cried Belle in devastation. She sunk to her knees beside her husband to discover the gun that was once in his hand on the floor in front of him, replaced by a knife and handwritten note.

Rumple stared down at the note as if burning the message into memory:

" _Rumplestiltskin and Belle,_

 _Your daughter sorely requests your presence back in Storybrooke._

 _Sincerely Yours,_

 _Arthur"_

"Who's Arthur?! Do we know an Arthur?" Belle cried out, ransacking her brain for any recollection or history or encounter with a person named Arthur.

"Not from this world," Rumplestiltskin said solemnly, his voice wavered softly out of shock. "We have to go back."

… …

 **Hello! Welcome to "The Author" and thank you for reading! To those of you who are new I highly recommend you read "Lily". I do make a few references in this story's universe that happen in "Lily". However, I can't make you do anything, so if you read something in "The Author" and you're like, "Hey! That didn't happen in Season 4…" Let me stop you. I made that up in "Lily". I tried to be as canon to the characters as possible, but heck, I'm not perfect. Leave me a review anyways, and let me know what you think!**

 **In "Lily" this chapter used to be called "The End… Or is it?" and was changed to "Arthur" when I deleted it from "Lily" and moved it over to "The Author". "The End… Or is it?" was meant to be a sneak peek into "The Author". So if you're reading this and you're like, "Hey, I've read this before." You're not seeing things. You have read this before. However, I did make some edits and adjustments so the ending is a little bit different.**

 **In this chapter, "Arthur" – A couple of notable things, which you might have already picked up on…**

 **-Lily and Rumple's interaction (in the beginning when they're waking up) is setup similarly to Simba and Mufasa's morning interaction from "The Lion King".**

 **-When Rumple plays with his daughter and calls her "Princess Tiger Lily", that was a nod to Disney's "Peter Pan", when Peter, John and Michael and the rest of the Lost Boys go after Princess Tiger Lily to save her. (BTW, I REALLY loved the playful interaction I wrote for Rumple and Lily. It's my favorite section of the entire chapter). Which led me to think of Robin William's "Hook"…**

 **-A big 'Thank You' to "Hook" and the abduction of Peter Pan's kids. It gave me the idea to base my sequel story to.**

 **\- When Rumple plays with his daughter and calls himself the "Dreaded Captain Roberts". At the time, while I was writing this chapter I was also reading Cary Elwes' "As You Wish" and was on a Princess Bride kick. Tip of the Hat to "The Princess Bride".**

 **Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next chapter!**


	2. The Call

"Damn!" cursed Rumplestiltskin as he snapped his cell phone shut. He ended the call as Belle cried out, "Will no one pick up?"

Rumple shook his head as he resumed his focus on the road. A flurry of dreaded thoughts swarmed their minds. The silence was deafening and their bodies ached from all the tension. Before she could allow her mind to set off another panic attack she spoke to break the silence. "Rumple…"

Rumple temporarily broke his trance from the road to quickly glance at her.

"Rumple… there's still magic in Storybrooke…" Belle remarked looking over at her husband from the passenger seat of the Cadillac. Magic was something they hadn't had to worry about in years and the mere thought brought about an unsettling form of anxiety. The sun was slowly rising as they made their way across the interstate towards Maine. Rumple casted Belle a nervous look and replied with great trepidation, "… I know."

"I don't understand. Everyone knows that we're done with that life. Most of them were probably relieved to see us go."

"Well, evidently, someone wants us back."

"But why?" questioned Belle anxiously. She sighed heavily staring out the windshield. "What could they possibly want from us?" Silence filled the space between them and it left Belle realizing that he was withholding information. His reluctance was foreboding. "Rumple, our daughter's life is on the line. What do you know that you're not telling me?"

Rumple let out an anxious sigh, twisting and stretching his shoulders as if suddenly becoming uncomfortable in his seat. "Belle, during that summer… before we left Storybrooke and moved to New York… I had discovered one of Henry's traveling spells…"

"Yes, I remember… and you mentioned that you had been traveling back to your castle…" _Castle._ It felt strange as the words left her mouth. In this world that they had already assimilated to, the mere thought of magic and castles seemed foreign, fantastical and downright ludicrous. It was another life. This… was supposed to be their happy ending. "…to collect dark magic…"

Rumple nodded, "One of those dark items that I sought after was the Sorcerer's hat… and this Sorcerer went by the name of 'Merlin'."

"Merlin? As in, Camelot and… _Arthur_ …" That was the connection. "This doesn't make sense. Why would Arthur come after us? How could Arthur have come after us in New York when he's from our land?"

" _If_ … he existed."

" _If?_ "

"So during that summer while you were pregnant with Lily, I went to the Enchanted Forest and heard from a man that Merlin was nearby. Now legends say that Merlin has the power to travel through time and realms and if that's true... then Belle he's more powerful than me! All of his magic comes from a hat and I wanted it. I wanted it because that power would have been enough to break me from the Dark One dagger and let me keep my magic outside of Storybrooke."

"Oh Rumple…" Belle commented while shaking her head in disapproval.

"But that was then! Obviously I didn't get it," he said defensively, doing his best to look at her and drive at the same time. "Hey…" he said softly, waiting to make eye contact with her. She turned to face him and saw him looking seriously at her. "I'm glad I didn't," he said with sincerity.

"I know," she replied more sympathetically.

He continued, "So, I had collected items and clues to his whereabouts, but every time I had gotten close to meeting him he would disappear and evade my grasp. The last remaining clue I had that hadn't checked out was a cryptic note I had acquired from him a long, long time ago saying, 'We cannot meet until we meet Arthur.' So for months, that summer, I scoured the land in search for Arthur, but found nothing. Then Henry had gone off to see Hercules and I was never able to resume my search."

He hesitated for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. She trusted him and he needed to trust her. Once they reached Storybrooke, there wouldn't be anyone left that he could truly trust with his intentions, so he proceeded, "Belle, as soon as we return to Storybrooke I must get into my shop to retrieve Henry's pocket-watch."

"Why?"

"Henry's pocket watch is the only realm traveling device left. I need his pocket-watch to travel back to our land and retrieve my dagger from the Dark Castle."

"You left it at the _Castle?_ You mean you had brought it with you! I thought it was still at the hiding spot we agreed upon in Storybrooke."

"Well, it's not and I'm going to need my dagger."

"Rumple, don't you see? This is a trap. What if this Arthur already has your blade and is just simply luring you back into Storybrooke to control you?"

"It's impossible. I distinctly remember cloaking the dagger at the castle using blood magic."

Rumple had lied to her twice now about the dagger and she started to doubt whether or not he had reverted back to his old ways. With the lies and mixed feelings over his old power-hungry habits, she asked skeptically changing the subject slightly, "So what's your history with Arthur?"

"I don't have any."

"Not even with any of Arthur's family? This wouldn't be the first time someone has tried to come after us to seek revenge," she said, remembering Hook's gun-shot to her shoulder. Even though Rumple had healed her all those years ago, she could still remember the pain of impact and she began rubbing her fingers over the phantom wound.

"Arthur is as it is in this land… a legend."

Belle stared outside the car window and speculated what a king and his round table of knights would want from Rumplestilstskin or herself. How did Arthur even know that they had conceived a child together? There was something missing to this puzzle. Something he was omitting and she sensed it. She looked over at her husband and needed to look at his face more clearly, but he was too focused on the road.

"Stop the car," Belle commanded to her husband.

"What?"

"Pull over right now and stop the car." Rumplestiltskin did as was requested of his wife and pulled over where he could. As soon as they were able to pull off to the side of the highway safely, she reached for his hand and looked into his eyes. "What are you not telling me?"

"About what?" he questioned, feeling her accusatory gaze probe his face.

"About Arthur!" exclaimed Belle.

Rumplestiltskin sighed as he turned his head away from Belle and stared outside the window. Belle reached forward for his face and gently turned his head back toward her, wanting to read his facial expressions.

Worry wrinkled his face as he thought of his response, "The legend speaks of a boy named Arthur and his destiny to rule the kingdom Camelot. Camelot is said to be this… this utopia of sorts. Of all of my years of living in the Enchanted Forest and searching for ways to get back to Bae, I've never come across him. This legend… was prophesized by the sorcerer Merlin and it is said that the two were fated to help one another. No one has seen him, not even his knights. Arthur never existed until now."

Belle wanted to make sure that this Arthur wasn't just a coincidence, that they weren't simply mistaking him for another Arthur. So she asked to double-check, "So Arthur… You mean, the Knights of the Round Table?"

Rumplestiltskin nodded, "One and the same."

"But according to the books I've read, the knights aided Arthur while searching for the Holy Grail."

"The Grail supposedly gives one eternal life, but with my being immortal already I wasn't exactly interested in that old relic. No, I was interested in finding Arthur. His knights were searching for Arthur too. Some people even thought that Arthur and the Grail were one and the same; one synonymous with the other. During my travels, I tried to avoid the knights where I could. Their religious pursuits didn't exactly align with my own."

"Could we be dealing with zealots?" Belle asked, worried over the new threat.

"I doubt that we're dealing with any of the knights. They were too wrapped up in themselves and their cause that they couldn't get anything accomplished. The last time I interacted with any of them was before we had even met and they were dealing with an indiscretion of their own. I wanted to know information about the whereabouts of Merlin and his hat so that I could use the hat to find Bae, and they wanted to find Arthur. At the time I figured wherever Arthur was, clues to Merlin's whereabouts would be there too. When I encountered the knights they believed that the reason why they weren't successful in their discovery of Arthur or the Grail was because someone within their group wasn't pure in heart. They wanted a way to test the purity of their hearts within the group. So in exchange for an enchanted object that would tell them so, they told me of their next intended destination. As it turned out, a man named Lancelot had given his heart to another woman."

"When you went to that destination, did you find anything there?"

"Nothing but that note about Arthur… Well," he began nonchalantly, "there _was_ the Grail. So it wasn't a complete waste of my time."

"This whole time _you_ had the Holy Grail?! You mean, you actually touched it?" she replied, her expression changing suddenly from scrutiny to awe.

"Trust me. There wasn't anything spectacular about it. Just a glorified paper weight if you ask me. Anyways, while they were busy squabbling amongst themselves over the purity of hearts, I went on ahead to see if their information checked out. Turns out… it did, except nobody was there. Just the note." Rumple had no reason to believe that the knights would be after them or their daughter. So their primary suspects circled back to Arthur and Merlin.

He continued, "So I continued my search for Merlin, but mostly because of the power he possessed to travel across realms. And… as I've said before our paths never crossed." He took a breath as he stared earnestly back at Belle. "That's all I know." He could tell by the incredulous look on her face that she was dissatisfied with his answer. "It's the truth! I'm not lying to you, if that's what you're thinking. She's my daughter too, why would I lie to you?!" he said in his defense.

After hearing his honest reply, she knew deep within her bones that what he said was the truth. He wasn't suspicious like he was before because this time he had no reason to be. "No," Belle said shaking her head dismissing the skeptical notion. "You're not lying. I'm sorry. I'm just tired and distraught and confused. It's just… none of this makes any sense! I'm sorry I doubted you."

She withdrew her hand from his and Rumple started back on the road again. Belle sat there in silence and stared out the passenger window as she racked her brain for possible solutions. Things seemed hopeless. She drew the back of her hand up to her mouth to mask the pout that was forming on her face and began sobbing.

Noticing her tears, he called to her gently and reached for her, "Hey." She turned with tears on her face to look at her husband and saw that he was hurting too. "We'll find her."

She scooted on over closer to him on the passenger seat and took comfort in shoulder by learning her head on his. She took his hand and wrapped her arm around his arm. In between sobs she cried, "Rumple, what are we going to do?"

"We'll figure out a way," he said doing his best to console her, "There's always a way…"

The long drive was excruciating. Belle exhausted herself from crying and decided to give her eyes a bit of a reprieve and closed them temporarily. Even though the morning sun remained cloaked by the dark clouds overhead, Belle still couldn't sleep. In fact, they both felt restless knowing that their child was kidnapped by someone from their world.

 _Someone from their world…_

Belle's eyes shot open as she came to a realization. How could someone from their world get to this world? How was Arthur able to find Storybrooke from _this_ world? How were they? "Rumple! How are we going to find Storybrooke?"

"In the note, Arthur wants us to come back to Storybrooke, which means that he has the means and ability to cross Storybrooke's border without issue."

"Is Arthur known to have that kind of magic?"

"No. According to the legend, the only thing enchanting about Arthur was the sword he wielded; Excalibur. And the only thing magical about that was the sword's ability to determine the rightful ruler of Camelot, which was to pluck the sword-"

"-from the stone," finished Belle. She too, had also heard of Arthur's legend, but from books of this land.

"No, I don't think we'll have an issue getting into Storybrooke. I mean, why bother setting up protection spells against us, if we're the ones being invited back? He's expecting us to come for Lily. Arthur has somehow found a way to leave and enter Storybrooke, which means that if he can, so can we."

"I suppose that makes sense," agreed Belle. His assurance gave her hope, or the illusion of hope. She gave out an exasperated sigh. "For years nobody from that world has bothered us or us them. We were peaceful and happy. Why couldn't we have been left well enough alone?" said the worried mother rhetorically.

"I don't know."

They sat in the car as they speculated some more. Rumple spent years to get Regina to cast a curse to get to this world. How did Arthur do it in such a short period of time? Why now all of a sudden? So she reasoned out loud, "To enter this world from our land, Arthur would have had to have come through Storybrooke first somehow, right?"

"Unless he's found a magical bean… but nobody's seen one in years and Arthur was very clear on us coming to Storybrooke. There are two things we know for certain, he's found us and he knows about Storybrooke."

"Bean or not, if he knows about Storybrooke, then he also knows that it's the only place in this world that still has magic. Somebody back in Storybrooke would have called us if…" She wanted to say, 'If they knew a threat was coming for them', but the truth was nobody has called them; not Emma, Regina, or even Henry. Emma and Regina's loyalty to them was doubtful at best, but Henry carried no animosity toward them and would have called right away. Despite their questionable loyalty, Belle had to believe that they were both mothers and as mothers would have done the right thing and alerted them.

The car fell eerily silent. Nobody from Storybrooke was answering their calls and nobody has called them, which meant that there was a breach in Storybrooke. Someone or everyone had been compromised. Not good. Rumple replied, "Something tells me that Arthur wasn't alone when he kidnapped Lily. With the Sorcerer by his side, Arthur could have entered this world by other unconventional means."

"The Sorcerer? You mean, Merlin?"

Rumple nodded at the correct insinuation, "I suspect that Merlin is involved. I think he's the one that's been assisting Arthur getting to and from worlds and if that's the case, anything is possible. Merlin's magic is that powerful. As potent as his magic is he's also just as enigmatic and elusive. Even I wasn't able to find him."

"So you think Merlin and Arthur are in cohorts together."

"Yes. Though, I think it is as you've said… they both made it into Storybrooke and have somehow gotten past Henry's magic. If you can remember, it was Henry who had the ability to turn magic on and off in Storybrooke and it was Henry who also made it possible for us to leave Storybrooke and still retain our memories. If Arthur and Merlin somehow made it into Storybrooke, then that means Henry was either compromised into telling them our location and was used to get across the border, or they already knew where to find us and have somehow found a way to bypass the town line's cloaked border without him."

Neither scenario sounded good. Henry was technically and magically their last line of defense from people they knew from their world. They both sat in the car pondering over the current state of the cursed town and the kind of horror awaited them beyond the line.

"Say Henry had been compromised… what could Arthur have hoped to gain by us coming back? We were of no threat to him and as far as we knew he didn't even know about us."

"I'm not entirely sure what Arthur's intentions are, but we're soon gonna find out." In an instant, Rumple's face quickly morphed from distress to anger. In a stern low voice, he growled, "And when we do, I promise you he will pay for what he's done. After I'm done with him, his penance will be nothing short of legendary _if…_ he lives long enough to serve it."

Arthur had clearly woken the beast, a side Belle hadn't seen in him in years. Belle wasn't quick to defend or encourage his vengeful thoughts, but she also knew of how quick and easy it was to follow that dark path. She couldn't blame him for wanting justice for Arthur's actions. She wanted justice too, but she had to know more before she could draw her own line in the sand.

"No! I want justice too, but not like that. We don't even know the whole story! This can't be a simple kidnapping. I don't think this whole thing is as black and white as you think. There wasn't even a ransom on the note. He just wanted us back in Storybrooke," pointed out Belle. "There's so much we don't know. As far as we know, Arthur could just be a false name disguised as someone else... like somebody we already know that's been in Storybrooke this entire time."

"Well that's great," Rumplestiltskin said, his sarcasm quickly emerging, "Doesn't exactly cut down our list of suspects, does it? Aside from the entire town whom I'm sure would like nothing more than to see me suffer. I wouldn't even be surprised if someone from our own estranged family was behind all of this."

"I just can't believe that though. You know when we left Storybrooke we left peacefully and amicably. So don't jump to conclusions about our family, however estranged they are."

"Well then, if it is as you suggested and our kidnapper is someone we already know, then who would go to these extraordinary lengths risking their own lives to bring us back?"

Suddenly Rumple's cell phone started to ring within the trench coat of his pocket. With a confused look upon his face he dug deep into his pocket and pulled out his cell. Rarely did he ever receive a phone call. When he did receive a call it was either from Belle, Lily's school or an alert from the security system he had in place to protect his pawn shop in New York. It wasn't any of them. They both looked on the screen to identify the caller to which they both discovered, "Henry?!"

Rumple immediately received the call and then pressed the speaker button for the two of them to hear. Henry answered first, " _Grandpa?_ " They both could detect a hint of hesitancy in his voice. It was noticeably deeper than they had remembered.

"Henry!" called out Belle, reaching for the phone cradled in Rumple's hand to hold it as he drove.

" _Belle?_ "

"I've got you on speaker phone Henry," explained Rumplestiltskin.

" _I saw that you had called and have actually been meaning to call you. Strange things have been happening in Storybrooke."_

"Henry, our daughter has been kidnapped and taken back to Storybrooke. Have you seen a little seven year old girl? She has brown hair, hazel eyes…" Belle said, her maternal voice wavering under duress.

" _No, I haven't. Lily's been kidnapped?! That's horrible! Where are you guys?"_

"On the road to Storybrooke. What's been happening in Storybrooke? What's going on?" asked Rumple.

" _I think the town has been cursed again. There's a mysterious person in town that no one can see but me. Every time I try to point him out to someone he disappears._ "

"What does he look like?"

" _He's a bit elderly. Long hair, white beard, has a walking stick. I've never seen him before in Storybrooke until recently._ "

" _Merlin?_ " mouthed Belle to Rumple. Rumple shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't sure. He continued his questioning, "When did he start showing up and where?"

" _He started appearing about a week ago and the last time I saw him he had been loitering around the shop… or, er… your shop._ "

"Of course, he would have," Rumple murmured dryly to himself.

"Henry," interrupted Belle, bringing the phone closer to her, "Has anyone new arrived to Storybrooke? Perhaps a young boy or young man?"

" _No. I'm sorry._ " Belle let out a worrisome sigh. Henry continued, " _How far away are you guys?_ "

"We've just crossed Maine's state line. We should be getting close to Storybrooke's town line in a few hours," answered Rumplestiltskin.

" _Call me when you get close and I'll meet you at the border to help you in._ "

Belle twisted her face in confusion, "Help us back into Storybrooke?" Apparently, the 'Henry's Been Coerced' theory wasn't it, meaning that Merlin was more powerful than she had thought. What chance did they have confronting a wizard of that power?

" _A lot has happened over the years since you guys have been gone. I can explain more when you guys arrive,_ " said Henry as he hung up the phone.

Belle handed the phone back to Rumple and he slipped the device back into his pocket. "Merlin's in Storybrooke," she said out of disbelief.

"So it would seem," Rumple replied. The wrinkles on his face never faltered. He was scared, but so was she. He recognized this dreaded feeling; he was being manipulated. They were about to enter a trap, voluntarily springing it into action with no understanding of the other elements at play. Seldom was he ever at the receiving end of mischief and duplicity. He always knew things, and that knowledge was always enough leverage to get him out of even the direst of situations.

But this time, he just didn't know and the "Not-knowing" was driving him mad. Madness like what came with the Dark Curse and what he was about to take on again. In the past he would justify his horrific and deplorable behavior as innocent child's play; displacing his current pain and unhappiness for the happiness of the maniacal child within. With the second disappearance of his child, an old wound was reopening and he found himself in pain again. Pain, sadness, anger, madness. He had almost forgotten about this Mask of Madness he wore at the price of his curse's magic. He was in pain and needed his magic. So once again, he found himself needing to slip the mask back on one last time.

* * *

 **Thank you CrypticCobra, Imusicluver23 and ladybugsmomma for your reviews on the first chapter! It was great hearing from you guys again. Hope to talk to you all again soon. See you next chapter! :)**


	3. Welcome Home

"Call Henry. We're on the road nearing the border now."

Belle did as she was told and used her cell to call Henry. She waited to speak until she heard Henry's greeting. "We're close to the town line," she said to Henry with the phone pressed to her ear. She waited for a moment to hear his response and quickly replied, "… ok."

"What did he say?"

"He said he'd meet us there in a few moments to lift the cloak. He said that it'll be obvious when we've arrived."

Just as Belle had mentioned, a shimmer on the road began to undulate before their eyes. At first they thought it was a mirage, but then the 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign suddenly appeared at the side of the road and beside it Henry.

It had definitely been a long time since they had seen him and Henry was no longer the boy they once knew. He had definitely grown up handsomely, as evident by the princely suit he donned. The Navy blue blazer, black vest, rouge Windsor tie and shined Oxford shoes were very becoming of him as if he had been raised by royalty, which wasn't too surprising considering his lineage. But the way he carried himself seemed very kin to his grandfather, Mr. Gold. He stood alone with hands in his pocket at the border's edge waiting for them.

A gold shimmer passed through them as Belle and Gold crossed the line in the Cadillac. As soon as the car crossed the border they came to a stop. The hairs on Belle's arm began to rise and a strange but not unfamiliar tingly sensation ran through her entire body. They were entering magic. Rumple closed his eyes briefly as his entire body became saturated by it. The ache in his leg disappeared instantly. He inhaled deeply, drinking in the air as if sipping on the finest wine and relished in the moment.

Belle looked over at him with concern and asked with a raised brow, "Are you ok?"

As if abruptly waking from a blissful dream, he came to and answered nonchalantly, "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine."

Henry waved to them as they got closer and Rumple came to a slow stop before him. As soon as Rumple placed the vehicle into park both he and Belle slowly stepped out of the car to greet him.

"Welcome back," he called to them with a small smile and open arms. Among the many things that had changed about him, Henry's voice had certainly deepened and it was more noticeable in person. Henry came over to Belle first, greeting her with a hug. "I'm so sorry that it wasn't under happier circumstances."

Unsure how to greet his own grandson, Henry quickly smoldered the awkward moment and boldly hugged his grandfather. Rumple slowly wrapped his arms around his grandson and when the moment passed he pulled back from him to get a better look. "I see you've been doing well for yourself," Gold observed.

"Yeah," concurred Belle, "You, uh… You're looking very sharp."

Henry blushed and replied, "I've been busy… running the family business, among other things."

"Where's your car?" asked Belle innocently as she scanned the road for his vehicle.

"I didn't use it. I used magic to get here," smiled Henry as he looked down on Belle.

"Oh," she said embarrassed. "Yeah. Of course you have."

"It's ok. It's been like, what? Seven years? So for seven years you've both lived in a world without magic. I think by now you've just simply grown accustomed to living without it."

"Yes, well, it certainly is like riding a bicycle," said Gold as he turned to head back toward the car.

"I would imagine so," agreed Henry. Seeing that Gold was in a rush to get into town Henry continued, "Hey, so… speaking of rides," his interjection causing Gold stop in his tracks to face him again. "I didn't want to be rude and just disappear, so I was wondering if I could get a lift back into town?"

"Of course," said Belle before Gold had a chance to protest. Gold gave Belle a reluctant look, and she suddenly remembered what they had discussed in the car on the way over. She understood his hesitancy, but unfortunately, the words had already escaped her mouth and it was too late to take back the offer. Before Henry could suspect anything Gold replied to Henry, "We have to drop by my shop, first, though."

"Sure," said Henry, shrugging his shoulders as he jovially filed into the back seat of the Cadillac. Rumple let out an anxious sigh as he and Belle got back into the car. They got back on the road again and continued traveling when the car suddenly got awkwardly silent. When the tension was too much, Henry spoke, "I have to ask, maybe I can help, what are you looking for? You know, since you've been gone, I've been running the shop and have organized it quite a bit. I could probably tell you where it is."

"Thanks for the offer Henry, but I'm afraid I can't tell you just yet."

"Ok…" said Henry, feeling confused and a bit put out.

As much as Gold wanted to trust his grandson, his gut instinct was telling him not to trust anyone until he had more knowledge or his dagger. Gold desperately needed to retrieve his dagger and in order to do that he needed access to Cogsworth. Henry's pocket-watch was one of the many enchanted objects he left behind when they moved away and it was an item he needed to get without Henry knowing.

"You have to excuse us, Henry," reasoned Belle as she turned her head to look behind her at Henry, "It's been a long trip for the both us and we just want our daughter back safe and sound."

"Oh no! I completely understand. I haven't told the family yet of your arrival, but when I do I'm sure they can help."

Belle physically turned around in her seat to properly thank Henry, "Thank you, Henry. That's very kind of you."

The Cadillac slowly turned onto the long Main Street and at the very end they could see the town's iconic library clock tower. Both Gold and Belle took in a deep breath. Neither one of them expected to see this town ever again. As familiar as the sights were, it felt incredibly strange to be back; like putting on an old shoe with all the worn familiar holes, making you realize why you rid yourself of the article of clothing in the first place.

Gold pulled into the side street beside the shop and parked as the sun began to set. He turned off the car and stared longingly over at the shop's side entrance. When he leaned back he was greeted by Henry's hand poking in between the seats holding out a set of keys. With a small smile Henry said, "Your keys to the shop."

Gold slowly reached up over his shoulder and grabbed the keys from Henry. "Henry…" began Gold hesitantly. He wasn't sure how to politely ask Henry to stay behind.

"I'll wait in the car while you guys get what you need from the shop," Henry replied conveniently.

"Thank you Henry… for understanding," Gold said to his grandson.

"Don't thank me just yet. Thank me when we find my Aunt."

Gold and Belle got out of the car and stared at the shop's sign nostalgically.

\- MR. GOLD PAWNBROKER AND ANTIQUITIES DEALER -

Belle walked over next to Gold and reached for his hand.

"It's like we never left," noted Gold as he blinked upwards at the sign.

"I know… and that's what frightens me the most about this place. Like we're still stuck in the original curse and time stood still," added Belle. "But you know what they say," she continued to say as she wrapped an arm around his, staring at his face, "some things never change."

"and yet," he said, glancing quickly over his shoulder at Henry, "Some things do."

Belle smiled over the idiom and realized that both he and Henry had changed a lot. She loved the man that he was before and still loved the man he was now. It made her feel almost silly to have not trusted him before. Watching his reaction to magic as they crossed the border did give her pause though, but she figured they didn't have their daughter and until they found her Belle's concern for Rumple's addiction to magic came second. He was the only person she could truly trust and so was she to him. They needed to trust in each other's abilities and it was critical now more so than ever if they were going to ever find their daughter.

They attempted to make their first steps toward the shop when suddenly they realized they couldn't move.

 _ **STOP. DO NOT ENTER THE PAWN SHOP.**_

The call reverberated so loudly in their minds that it resonated straight to their hearts, magically compelling them to comply with its command. Belle tried to move forward again and thought she was having a brief stroke. "What's going on? Why can't I move?"

 _ **RETURN TO YOUR CAR AND DRIVE BACK TO YOUR STORYBROOKE HOME.**_

"Belle, someone already has the dagger," replied Gold as they moved immediately back to the Cadillac. One of his worse fears confirmed. This was a trap. Belle went to the passenger side and entered the car, "But why am I being manipulated?"

"We still share a half of each other's hearts, remember? To protect you when you gave birth to Lily and that includes my cursed half-heart."

Gold got into the car and turned the vehicle back on.

"Back so soon? Why didn't you go into the shop?" piped in Henry from the back seat.

"Henry, someone has my dagger," explained Gold as he pulled away from the shop and headed back to their old Victorian home.

"Oh. Is that why you wanted to return to the shop? I scoured, organized and cataloged every item in there and never came across your dagger."

"That's because it was never in the shop. I needed to get into the shop to find your pocket-watch."

"Oh, you mean Cogsworth?" said Henry as he pulled the pocket-watch out from inside his vest pocket to reveal the item.

"Yes," said Gold with surprise. "You had it this entire time?"

"Yep," said Henry as he withdrew the watch and placed it back into his pocket. "So… Where are we going now?"

"We're going back… home…" Belle said reluctantly and disappointedly. They weren't going home; at least not back to New York. So the words came out more lackluster than she expected. She had hoped that when she said those words again it would have been with their daughter safely back in their arms. Before they knew it they were already down the familiar street towards the Victorian home. Gold drove into the driveway as he did for so many years, but he didn't want to get out. Neither one of them did.

"So… where did you want to go with my pocket-watch?"

Gold bit his tongue and remained silent. They needed to keep their plans to themselves because the truth was they couldn't trust anybody. Belle finally understood his reservations about giving Henry the lift back into town and wasn't sure how to vocalize her concerns without appearing rude or inconsiderate. Gold appeared anxious, almost angry and when he didn't respond, Belle stuttered, "Henry… uh… we…"

"No I… I get it. I'll just gather the family tomorrow morning to tell them. They'll most likely bombard you the instant I tell them of your arrival anyways. Besides," Henry said while looking at his grandfather's quiet disposition, "it looks like you guys could use some time to yourselves and perhaps settle in before the whole entourage arrives at your doorstep."

Henry opened up the car's door and exited. As soon as he stepped outside the vehicle he magically vanished and was gone. Without saying a word, Rumple left the vehicle. Belle did the same and followed him up the stairs to the front porch. As Belle ascended the stone steps, she couldn't help but be amazed by the preservation spell that was left behind. Even the bushes that surrounded the property were kept trimmed and the lawn perfectly manicured. Rumple reached the final step and waved his hands over the house. To his surprise nothing happened. His face twisted in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Belle asked, noticing his face.

"I distinctly remember placing a Protection Spell using blood magic over the house before we left... it's been broken."

"You did bequeath this house to Henry for when he was old enough. And if you did use blood magic using _your_ blood, then Henry's the only one that could have broken it, right?"

"Yeah," he agreed suspiciously. He turned around and began casting more protective charms and spells over the house and property. Without saying another word they entered their old home together.

As soon as they stepped inside Belle was flooded with memories of their old life. Not an item was covered with dust, as if they just moved yesterday. The furniture was left exactly as she remembered, almost like she was transported back in time. She looked to the left where the living room was and remembered having their first dance. She remembered experiencing Neal's last moments before Henry stopped believing in magic.

Belle felt like she was on autopilot walking straight to the kitchen as she did so many times before to assess the inventory. Deep down she knew there wouldn't be anything. Before they moved she had cleaned and disposed everything, leaving the house pristine perfect for when Henry was ready to inherit it. So it came to her surprise when she noticed a couple of items already in the kitchen sink. Apparently, Henry was making use of the kitchen. A couple of empty mugs with residual coffee stains and a teacup; her teacup, chip and all!

She lifted the teacup to look at it closely, not believing she was holding the relic that symbolized their love for each other. But what was it doing here? Why was it sitting by the sink, in their house? Wasn't it supposed to be still in the shop? And the coffee mugs… unless Henry was drinking coffee now, the only other person who favored these brews were…

"Rumple…" she whispered. She looked around the kitchen and then called out for him again, "Rumple?"

She placed the cup down and walked out of the kitchen. She was about to head down to the basement when she heard some feet scuffle out on the front porch. Rumplestiltskin was just protecting the house, so the only person it could have possibly been was him. She opened the front door and discovered him standing by the banister looking out onto the street.

"Rumple, are you… uh, are you done fortifying the house? Is it safe to talk now?"

He turned around and his face had the look of… awe, surprise, relief? "Yes… Yes, we're safe now." Tears were forming in his eyes as he came close and hugged her tightly. "I love you Belle," he said softly and sweetly into her ear. Before she had the opportunity to question this sudden affection he swiftly planted a loving kiss on her lips.

She pulled away from him, taken back slightly, "Woah, what's the meaning of all this?"

He brought her hand up to the side of his face and said simply, "I just… don't ever want to make the same mistake twice and lose you too." He kissed the inside of her palm and brought it gently down by her side.

"Do you have a plan? Are we going to find Lily?"

"We're going to find her and we'll have her again soon enough, but for now I must apologize. I'm so sorry to do this to you my love…"

"Do what to me? What are you sorry for? I don't understand…"

He brought his hand up to her head and with the look of regret, waved it over her face. Before she could finish her sentence her eyelids became extremely heavy and fell shut. The last thing she remembered was collapsing into his arms.

… …

Henry reappeared in what seemed to be the middle of the woods. Knowing the path all too well, Henry immediately pressed forward. The thick trees masked the cabin well, but he knew where he needed to go. As he walked deeper into the woods the path before him became more obvious and artificial. For the most part the heavy canopy shielded the cabin, but still a few water droplets managed to escape through the gaps and fall onto his elegant coat jacket. He checked the time. It was nearing five o'clock. The sun was setting, which made the cabin appear more gloomy and eerie upon arrival.

He walked on up to the front porch and waved his hands over the entrance and in one fluid motion the purple glow protecting the cabin faded away in ripples. Without pause he continued through the front door.

" _Mama… Papa…_ " whimpered a little girl from inside.

Henry moved closer to the room which hosted the little girl and opened the door. The young girl with brown hair and hazel eyes jumped and then cowered at the sudden sight of him.

"Don't worry. Your parents are here and are coming for you. Are you hungry?" he said while conjuring up a plate of assorted cheeses, meats and crackers for her. His voice seemed calm and playful as if they were simply two friends hanging out together. He offered the plate to her.

"Where are they? Why can't I see them? Am I a prisoner?" the young girl cried as she backed herself into a corner, keeping as much distance as possible from him.

"The timing isn't right. If I let you go now, they'll just head straight back to New York again. No… I have to give your father something, but he needs to want it."

"What?" asked the confused girl. She understood ransom, but what her capture was asking for wasn't clear. In fact, it was enigmatic.

"Don't you worry. It will all become clear, but in due time," Henry smirked evilly as he headed back out the front door, "… my dear _Aunt Lily_."

* * *

 **Thank you Grace5231973, Imusicluver23, CrypticCobra, ladybugsmomma, Mystics Apprentice, and Montreat11 for reviewing! Wow. Look at you guys. How cool is that for having posted only 2 (now 3) chapters? I'm super excited for what I have in store for the rest of this story. All I ask is that you please be patient with my postings. I'm trying to pace myself accordingly… write, read, edit, post, reply. Very time consuming. This story is very detail oriented and much more complex than my first story. Occasionally I go back to previous chapters I've already written and I sprinkle a few more details that become relevant later. The trick is being able to do all that before I post an actual chapter, so I'm very cautious as to what I post up. Believe me, I want to post everything I've got so far, but my hesitance is leaving out a crucial detail or idea that will, in turn, affect the rest of my story. You know what I mean? I hope you do. Thank you for your patience and understanding. See you next chapter!**


	4. Attempt

Belle stirred and for a moment she thought she was back in New York, but the smell wasn't right. The air smelt a bit musty and old. She woke up and to her disappointment she found herself on a couch back in her Storybrooke Victorian home.

 _What time is it? How did I make it to the couch?_ She wondered.

She sat up immediately and looked around the living room for a clock. The face-clock on the mantle read 9:36 p.m.

 _Where's Rumple? He was on the porch, no… that was a dream, wait… was it?_

"Rumple?!" Belle called out into the void. She got up and headed toward the basement. "Rumple?" she called out again.

"I'm down here," he answered back.

Belle descended the stairs and upon the bottom could see that he had been busy. For the past few hours of their arrival he had apparently unearthed equipment, organized potions bottles and categorized ingredients. It wasn't until she saw Lily's jacket on the work table that she realized what he had been up to.

"Lily's jacket?" Belle questioned.

"I needed something of hers for the tracking spell to work. For the past few hours, I've been searching and assembling the right ingredients together to create the spell. As you can see, there's a lot down here I had to look through."

"Is the spell ready?"

"Not yet..." he said as he added a drop of something silver from a potion bottle, "I'm afraid the last ingredient I need is in my shop."

"Rumple… let me come with you when you go to the shop."

He glanced up from the work table with a raised brow, "What's wrong?"

"I just… had this strange dream that you were apologizing to me and…" His face twisted with concern as she started to rehash the tale to him. Upon seeing that there was no merit to finishing the tale and that nothing would come of it, she shook her head to disregard it. "…um, nevermind. It's probably nothing. This place is starting to get to me as I'm sure it has already with you." Gold remained stoic; neither confirming nor denying her assumptions about how he was handling magic. She continued, "So long as Merlin and Arthur are out there and the town remains cursed, I don't think we should split up. I, personally, would feel much better knowing that you were nearby."

Gold nodded understandably, "Alright. You're right. There's no telling who we can trust and you're the only person I trust at the moment. The last thing we need is for one of us to get cursed."

Belle exhaled a sigh of relief at his reassurance. She looked around his work table as he waved his hand over the items. Potions, herbs and other items were magically storing themselves in boxes and slipped perfectly back on the shelf behind. Apparently, magic was coming back to him more naturally than she had expected. Then a thought occurred to her, when they found Lily would he want to leave again, leave magic? She had only asked him once when they were living in New York, whether or not he missed it and his answer was, " _So long as I have you two to live out the rest of my life with."_ It was then that she realized he had never really answered her question.

"Rumple…"

"Mmm?" he said as he collected Lily's jacket.

"We're not going to stay in Storybrooke. Our home is in New York, right?"

It took him a beat to respond, "Yes, of course." He hesitated, the tone of his voice filled with reluctance. "…Once we find Lily, we'll head back home."

"Ok," she said with uncertainty.

He started to get up from where he sat on the stool, but as soon as he did he wavered. He was fatigued. Magic may have healed his physical body, but his mental acuity was faltering. He had driven all morning, worked in the basement all evening, all while he worried about losing his daughter. It was enough to tax anyone. He leaned forward, placing his two hands on the work table and closed his darkened eyes.

"My love… what's wrong?" observed Belle concerned about his welfare. She came forward and placed a hand on his back to comfort him.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You look exhausted. You need to sleep."

"Well, good thing I'm the Dark One because I've always been a light sleeper."

"But you _did_ sleep, even as 'The Dark One' you did sleep if only for a little," pointed out Belle. He wasn't moved by her plight. She lifted one of his hands and held it within one of her own as she beckoned, "Come… rest. For me."

He quickly slipped his hand out of hers and pounded the table. Out of stress and frustration he shouted unintentionally, "Belle, I can't lose another child! I can't lose Lily like I did Bae!"

" _We_ ," emphasized Belle reminding him that Lily was her child too. She laid her hands delicately on his arm to soothe him and tried to look into his eyes. " _We_ won't lose our child. If we don't try to rest, we'll miss something because our eyes were too tired to see it and that will only set us back in finding her. We have a plan so please," she begged of him, "Please try to rest."

"It's late at night. There's nobody guarding the shop twenty-four, seven. We should make one last attempt to enter the shop while we have the night to cloak us," negotiated Gold.

"We can wait. Merlin and Arthur may be powerful, but there is only two of them. With you, Regina, Emma, and Henry we outnumber them. Let's try and enter the shop tomorrow. If we can't enter, we can ask Henry or Regina for help when we see them tomorrow. If we are stopped by the Dark One dagger, they can still retrieve the missing ingredient for us. In either case, it can wait till the morning."

"How do you know that whoever took Lily isn't harming her?" said Gold thinking of only the worse.

"The letter only demanded that we come to Storybrooke. There was no threat to her, or even to us for that matter. We're here in Storybrooke just like the letter asked. We did our part and paid the ransom. The ball is in Arthur's court now. We are going to find her, but not tonight and not like this," reasoned Belle.

"Alright," conceded Gold after much reluctance as she took his hand in hers. Along the way, he grabbed his daughter's jacket and followed his wife back up the stairs to the main house. He hung Lily's jacket neatly over the back of one of the chairs in the dining room and reached for her hand again. He made his way towards the stairs as if making their way to their old bedroom when he felt her pull back. He turned around and noticed her hesitance, "What's wrong?"

"I can't… this isn't our home anymore. Let's… let's just…" she pulled away from him and made her way toward the living room. He followed after her and flicked his wrist towards the fireplace. A fire place sprung to life as she sat down on the couch. He continued to look at her curiously, wondering what she wanted to do. The magic took her by surprise as the fire roared in front of her. It was odd seeing him openly use magic again, but ignored it temporarily; the fire's warmth was comforting.

"Hold me?" she asked as she sat down on the couch. He sat down beside her on the couch and opened his arms out to receive her. She curled up next to him staring at the fireplace, resting her head comfortably on his shoulder. As soon as she closed her eyes he waved his glowing purple hand over her face. He kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry, my love. I don't want to see you get hurt. I'll be back," he promised as he gently moved away from her. With careful hands, he rested her head delicately onto a pillow and had her legs elevated onto the couch. He conjured a blanket out of thin air and laid it perfectly over her body. Before exiting the front door he casted one last glance at her. She wouldn't understand if he told her, but he had more plans beyond tracking their daughter.

He turned away from her and headed toward the door. He slipped on his overcoat suit jacket and left the house disappearing into a cloud of dark magenta smoke. When the cloud dissipated, he found himself in front of his Pawn Shop again. He inhaled deeply. He almost forgot how good it felt to wield magic again; almost too good. He looked around at the darkened main street. The coast was clear. He pulled out the keys to the Pawn Shop and unlocked the door. He went inside the old shop and moved nostalgically around the room, reacquainting himself with the new surroundings.

Henry had certainly been taking care of his shop as evident by the organized groupings of like items. As he walked towards the back of the shop his hands hovered over the glass cases. His fingertips brushed the surface every object his hands passed over, reading each one like brail remembering the history and story behind each one. As he touched he remembered and somewhere deep down, he felt himself turning. Reverting. Changing. He remembered this feeling… this feeling of power, and it was insatiable.

He spun around to look at the entirety of his shop from the opposite end of the room. All of these things were his. _Were_ … his.

Rumple shook his head. Something had taken over him and he completely forgot why he came to the shop to begin with. His missing daughter! Rumple went straight to the back of shop and searched for his black bag of potions. He looked high and low and found it resting inside a glass cabinet. He pulled it out and sat it on the work table still there. He opened it and found the necessary vial to complete the tracking potion. He pocketed the liquid and made his way back out to the front of the shop. Suddenly he felt his head spin and vision blur. He had been awake for almost twenty hours and his fatigue from the day made him more susceptible to his Dark Curse. Whether or not he wanted to admit it, magic was affecting him more so than he realized. He leaned forward onto one of the counters and started rubbing his eyes when something caught his eye. A green twinkle.

Zelena's pendant. _It wasn't in the shop before_ , he thought to himself. The last he remembered of the object Regina had kept it in her family's vault. _What was it doing here? Perhaps Henry brought it out of her vault to combine it with the rest of the other items in the shop to preserve his family's legacy_ , he speculated. It was a stretch, but it was the only theory that made sense to him.

He never broke his gaze as he made his way around the counter. He pulled open the glass door and reached for the emblem. The emerald weighed heavy in his hands as he gazed at it. This was Zelena's totem; a tether for all of her magic. It made him remember his previous master and wondered who his current master was now. _Why hasn't he or she revealed himself yet?_ The new master had only made one command of him so far and it wasn't anything sinister. _Could this new master be on the side of good? Could it be Arthur? Could it be someone he knew already and didn't want its identity to be revealed too soon?_

The dagger. He could have sworn that it was protected by blood magic. Nobody could have gotten access to it but him. Just like… the house.

The broken protection and preservation spell. Both of them were protected by blood magic too; destined for Henry when he came of age to inherit it. Belle mentioned that Henry must have broken it, which was why he shirked off his suspicions earlier about someone breaking into the house. _It's Henry_ , thought Rumple. He felt convinced Henry was his new master. Henry had Cogsworth and during the seven years that he, Belle and Lily were gone he must have ventured to his Dark Castle in the Enchanted Forest and discovered the hidden compartment protected by blood magic.

Suddenly he felt the pull of the dagger and its command…

 _ **GO BACK TO YOUR WIFE.**_

"No!" shouted Gold back defiantly. He placed the pendant into his pocket and exited the pawn shop. He had fought against the Dark Curse before when Zelena was in control and knew all too well that to fight against it was futile. Despite what he already knew, he stepped out into the street and shouted into the dark desolate void, "I know who you are! So why don't you reveal yourself already?"

No response. No big reveal. Why? He felt the pull again. Like last time, it resonated within the depths of his rib cage and shivered up to his brain. He fought the command with all his might, but this time it felt different. At first he thought that he had actually overpowered the curse because his feet still remained planted to the ground, but then something felt wrong with his heart. At his defiance, the message repeated itself again and again getting louder and louder each time.

 _ **GO BACK TO YOUR WIFE. GO BACK TO YOUR WIFE. GO BACK TO YOUR WIFE. GO BACK TO YOUR WIFE. GOOOOOO… BAAAAAACK… TOOOOO… YOOOOOUUUUUR… WIIIIIIIIIIIFE…**_

The message deafened his own thoughts and consumed his entire being to the point where magic forced his body to move on its own accord and he submitted to the call.

"Henry," he groaned while clutching his heart. When he couldn't take it anymore he engulfed himself in dark purple smoke and disappeared from the front of the pawn shop. When he reappeared he collapsed by Belle's side in the foyer. Belle, woken up by the dagger's command, had been searching for Rumplestiltskin around the house before his arrival and was about to head out the front door when he suddenly appeared by her side.

"Rumple!" called out Belle with alarm and noticed immediately that he was clutching his chest like he couldn't breathe. She knelt down on the floor next to him and moved in closer to support him. At first she was upset that he had left her without telling her, but was more concerned about why he was holding onto his chest and not speaking to her. "Rumple, what happened? Where were you? What did you do?!"

In a strained voice he replied, "My heart… It's Henr… I'm sorry…"

"What?"

His eyes rolled up to the back of his head and closed, passing out on his side and collapsing onto her lap in the hallway. Belle cried out to her husband as she tried to rouse his lifeless form, "Rumple? Rumple!"

* * *

 **Did that feel like a short chapter to you? Yeah, I think it was a pretty short chapter too. I will try to send out the next one tomorrow or Tuesday.**

 **Thank you CrypticCobra, SkyBlueSw, Imusicluver23, NatalieMosherRumbelle, Grace5231973, ladybugsmomma, and Montreat11 for your reviews on the previous chapter. How awesome it was to hear from all of you!**

 **Last chapter… Ok, so I received a lot of interesting feedback on the Henry twist. I hope I didn't turn any readers away from my risky take on the character. As a writer, I just couldn't pass up on the opportunity to throw on a different shade to his character. However, my story is just heating up and there's a lot left to the story to tell. Anything can happen to any of the characters, including Henry. And if you are still reading my story, then you've decided to follow me down this curious rabbit hole of mine. You're brave and I applaud your curiosity. Bravi! Just know this, not everything is as it seems. Here's to hoping I see you next chapter too! Thanks for reading. Cheers.**


	5. The Great Escape

As soon as Henry left, Lily cried herself to sleep wondering why he had called her "Aunt Lily". Maybe she misheard him. Perhaps because she was so small to him that she was the same size as an ant. When she woke up the following morning all her crying from the night before brought about an appetite so she snacked on the tray of assorted cheeses and crackers her kidnapper left behind. While she ate, she listened for any subtle movements outside her door for her captor and was relieved to hear nothing. She wasn't entirely sure what time it was. Lily got up from where she sat and craned her head to look outside her room's window. Based off of the limited light entering her room it could have been early in the morning or late in the evening. She wasn't completely sure, but it felt like morning to her.

Lily pondered some more about her strange captor. He didn't seem evil. If he was feeding her then there was something about him that made him care for her well being. Apparently he knew her and knew about her father, but she knew nothing about the man who kidnapped her. Apart from saying very little to her, he never hurt her. Sure she had struggled against him, but it was only when she resisted that the stranger used some force to restrain her. Lily found her whole kidnapping very odd. Even her environment felt strangely familiar. As she moved about, she felt a peculiar sensation tingling in her bones as if the air she breathed around her was telling her that she was 'home', but she knew she wasn't. She wondered where she was and looked about the wooden room. She got up and moved closer to her room's door pressing her ear against it. When she couldn't hear anything she braved turning the knob. She turned the knob slowly and then silently peeked out into the rest of the cabin. Abandoned. She exited her room and braved the hallway.

If her kidnapper left her unattended then surely there was a bit of trust at play. He trusted her. At least he gave her enough freedom to roam about the deserted cabin, but why? Why would this strange man capture her? What did he want from her parents? Something about giving her father something. Why couldn't he have just given whatever the item was back in New York? What was so special about this place that he had to give it to him here?

She left her wooden cell and walked cautiously about the cabin. She scanned her surroundings, trying to burn into memory as much as she could in hopes to recant the details to her parents later when she escaped. _If_ she could escape. She saw an abandoned fireplace and moved by it. As she snuck by the empty pit it suddenly roared into life. The sudden blaze frightened her and she jumped back a few steps out of alarm.

 _How was that possible? Motion detectors?_ She wondered. Was this old cabin more technologically advanced than she realized? Lily knew that she had never been to this cabin before in her life, so why couldn't she shake this familiar feeling about this place? It wasn't the cabin. She wasn't cold. In fact, the room's temperature was quite comfortable. So why were there goosebumps on her skin? Perhaps she was having some form of an allergic reaction.

When her heart settled back down into her chest, she looked about the main living space some more. She noticed a few books her mother would have enjoyed sitting over in a corner collecting dust in an ill-forgotten bookshelf. Across the room there was a fridge with a hand written grocery list. She moved in closer to get a better look at the parchment. Upon closer inspection, the handwriting looked eerily similar to her father's penmanship, especially with the letters 'f', 's', 'r'. Suddenly, she saw the cabin's door. When she saw that the coast was clear she made a mad dash to escape. She turned the knob and attempted to run through, but was immediately repelled backwards into the cabin by some mysterious force. Lily fell to her back and the force from the blow knocked the wind out from her lungs.

As soon as she was able to catch her breath she got up and slowly approached the door's open frame. She inserted her hand through the doorway but it was like pushing her hand through saran wrap and could not pierce the door's invisible barrier. She couldn't escape. The invisible force was preventing her from leaving, as if it was being enforced by… _magic_.

" _Magic?_ " Lily said out loud with disbelief. "No way. This has to be some sort of… new defense system my Papa's been working on."

Lily wasn't completely ignorant of the technology out there in the world. From her school's library she had read stories on kid spies and their adventures. It wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility, was it? Lily suddenly thought of an extreme theory. What if her father was once part of a government program developing new technology and they were holding her hostage until he could fix the item in question. She always knew that her father was really good at fixing things. She would even see her father bring work home sometimes, against her mother's wishes of course, to tinker on a new item or adjust a gadget that would find its way out of his pawn shop. It wouldn't surprise her if that was the case, but she knew her father. She knew that whatever the item was that her kidnapper wanted him to see, he would see it and know exactly what to do.

Suddenly she heard a couple of window taps knock from the opposite end of the room. She turned towards the source of the sound and discovered a little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes peering through the glass window. Lily ran to the window and shouted to the little boy, "Help me! I've been kidnapped. I'm trapped!"

"Try lifting the window!" he called back to her through the window pointing toward the latch. Lily did as the little boy suggested and released the latch above the frame. She tried with all her might, pushing, clawing and willing the window to go up but had no success. The little boy on the opposite side of the window pane even tried to help, but was unsuccessful as well. Defeated, she gave out an exhausted and panicked whimper.

Seeing the panic on her face, the little boy called to her again, "Have you tried all the windows?"

Frustrated, she wiped the tears from her face and began checking the other windows of the room. Each window greeted her with the same results.

"You can't escape, you know…" called out an eerie voice from within the cabin. She spun at her heel and saw her captor gawking idly, watching her fail at attempting to escape. _How long had he been standing there?_ "…I've cloaked this cabin with magic."

Lily looked at the original window for the little boy who was trying to help her escape, but he was gone. What stood before her now was her kidnapper.

"Magic?" Lily repeated back with disbelief.

"Yes, magic! Come now, couldn't you sense it? I mean, you must have felt it when we passed through."

"Pass through… where? Where are we?"

" _We_ … are in a place that doesn't technically exist on any map. This, my dear Lily, is Storybrooke and is the only place in this world where you'll find magic."

"How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"Now that… is an excellent question. For now, just call me Arthur."

"Arthur," said Lily as she started to cry, "I want my Mama and Papa. When can I see them?"

Upon seeing Lily cry, Arthur grimaced as if feeling sorry for his keeping her hostage and pulled out a handkerchief from within his breast-coat pocket. "There, there…" he said offering the handkerchief to her. She backed away from Arthur and fell into a chair, shaking her head and refusing his offer. Why was he offering? Why did he care so much? She wanted to be scared of him, but she couldn't. First, he offered her food, then her freedom to roam around the cabin and now his handkerchief. He seemed genuinely concerned for her welfare.

He came to her side and knelt down before her, looking at her at her eye level. Despite refusing his courteous gesture, Arthur began dabbing the tears away from her face with the handkerchief anyways. "Lily," Arthur started to say with a baffled look on his face, "what do you know about your parents?"

"My mummy's a librarian at a university in New York and Papa owns a pawn shop."

"Is that all?"

Lily nodded her head. Arthur looked disappointed, he pressed on, "Lily, what do you know about the story 'Beauty and the Beast'?"

Lily was caught off guard by such an obtuse question. She stammered as she gave a brief summary of the story, "Uh… A handsome prince was cursed as a hideous beast… uh, Beauty… had a loving father who got kidnapped by the beast and in exchange for his life she traded places with him… Beauty had beautiful sisters who were hideous on the inside and… and during her time with the Beast realized that true beauty was found within. The Beast gave her back her freedom knowing full well that he was near death. Beauty's sister were so horrible that it made her miss her Beast because the Beast was nothing but kind to her. So… so she returned to him and agreed to marry him."

She knew she jumbled the main plot points, but she was nervous and felt strange retelling her parents' favorite tale to a complete stranger.

Arthur smirked and nodded as if approving. "What if I were to tell you that the fairy tales you've read about or were ever told to you… _were real?_ " Lily stared at Arthur with stunned awe. "Now," he continued, "the stories you may have heard or read are actually slightly different than what actually happened, but your parents… are fairy tale characters."

"What?" breathed out Lily. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"That story, 'Beauty and the Beast' is your parents' story. Your mother is Beauty and your father is Beast."

"No! My mother's name is Belle-"

"-which is also another name for Beauty."

Just behind Arthur's shoulders Lily glanced up and saw the little boy from earlier peek through the kitchen window. Without letting Arthur on to her observation she stuttered, "But… but my father's name is Gold!"

"That may be true, but what other name does he answer by?" Lily knew about her father's first full name, but no one but her own mother ever called him by it. More often than not, she usually only heard her mother call him by the abbreviated version. She never really thought about how odd it was for only her mother to call him by this other name until now. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little boy at the kitchen window gesture for her to punch Arthur in the face and then run toward the door. When she didn't reply right away Arthur answered for her, "…Rumplestiltskin."

"How do you know about my father's name?" Lily asked, glancing back and forth between Arthur and the door.

"Because… I'm his grandson."

The revelation fell down upon her like a ton books falling to the floor, "But… that's impossible. I… I'm an only child."

"Your Papa's beastly history goes way, way back and he is much, much older than he appears to be. However old you think he is his tale is even older."

 _How was this possible?_ Nothing Arthur was saying to Lily was making sense to her. Arthur looked down at his suit for a moment to put away his handkerchief and Lily seized her chance. With all of her strength she kicked Arthur square in the face and rendered him unconscious. She ran as quickly as she could to the door and opened it. She checked with her hands to make sure the invisible force was gone and when her hands fell through she burst forth from the cabin and ran as fast and as far away from the cabin as she could.

"Wait!" called the little boy from the window to her. He was running to catch up to her. "I know the way back to town. Take my hand!"

"Who are you?" Lily asked.

"My name is Neal. Now come on! My nephew could be waking up any moment."

"What?! You're nephew? What is this place?!"

"There's no time for questions," Neal said grabbing her hand. As soon as their hands touched the world around them disappeared. When the reappeared, they were still in the same forest but the cabin was about thirty yards away. She and Neal kept running, but after running for about ten feet or so the world would suddenly disappear and reappear at different parts of the forest. _What was happening?_ As much as Lily appreciated the help getting away from the cabin, the whole popping in and out of existence was becoming disorienting. Lily felt her stomach churn, her head spin and her legs wobble. She was going to vomit.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" shouted out Lily to her fortunate companion. "I'm going to be sick."

"I'm sorry," apologized Neal. "I'm not very good at magic. Disappearing and reappearing for the first time made me want to throw up too."

Lily collapsed to the forest floor. While trying to catch her breath she asked intermittently without trying to gag, "That… that was magic?!... Arthur is your nephew?... How is that even possible? What is this place? Wait…" she took a deep breath and looked into Neal's eyes, "…how did you find me?"

"I don't know who this Arthur is but that person who was holding you captive was my nephew."

"Was?"

"Henry is his actual name. I don't know why he was holding you hostage," said Neal, just as confused, "he would never kidnap anyone. He would never hurt anyone either, not even a fly! That person that you met back there is not the nephew I know." Seeing that she was still very confused, Neal continued explaining, "I have an older sister who's like, super old… well not super old, but older… and she had son…Henry, but she had him way before I was born."

"But… Arthur called me Aunt Lily. Why would he call me that? I don't have any brothers or sisters."

Neal shrugged his shoulders and kicked some rocks and debris away from Lily, wondering the same thing too. He looked at Lily curiously, "So your name is Lily, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Who are your parents?"

"Belle and Gold."

"Gold?! As in the town's famous Pawn Shop? Mr. Gold is your father?!" Neal said stunned.

"You know of my Papa?"

"Not really, only the little that my parents told me about him… that he was a powerful sorcerer and how he frightened the whole town."

"Papa? A sorcerer? No," Lily said scrunching her face in confusion. She shook her head in disbelief, "No, that doesn't sound like my Papa. He wouldn't scare anyone."

Lily was left baffled. She was confused by what was happening, where she was, about magic, about why she was kidnapped, about why Arthur kept her hostage but never harmed her, about this little boy's obscure family lineage. So much was happening to her and it was all too much. All she knew for certain was that Neal was helping her get back to her parents and so she was extremely grateful for him. The sooner she got back into her parents, the sooner they could leave this strange place and then be done with this nonsense.

"Well, Mr. Gold or not we should keep moving. Come on," Neal insisted as he reached for her hand to help her up from the ground.

"No more magic, please. My tummy can't handle it."

"As you wish, but we should still keep moving."

Lily finally took Neal's assistance and he helped her to her feet. They moved steadily on through the woods when Lily realized that Neal still hadn't answered her original question. "So… you can do magic."

"Yeah, but I'm not very good. Obviously."

"And Arthur… I mean, Henry… he has magic too?"

"Yeah and he's really good at it too. He was the one that taught me how to do that disappearing-thing back there. Weird… for the past few days he had been acting really strange, being distant from the rest of the family. He and I were supposed to have our magic lesson yesterday, but he missed that too and he never misses it. That cabin was our secret meeting spot and we'd meet there every morning to learn something new or perfect a spell. Well this morning, I go to check out the cabin again and discovered that not only had it been sealed by magic, but that you were stuck inside it."

The sun was beginning to rise and she had no idea where they were. She stared at the sun and it immediately reminded her of the conversation she had with her father before she got kidnapped.

"… _the first step to understanding magic, is knowing that it exists. You just have to know where to look…"_

She looked around at her surroundings. She didn't recognize anything with her eyes, but she felt it. She closed her eyes and was suddenly able to identify the familiar feeling; the air, this place, these woods… it was all magic. Even if she wanted to not believe in its existence, her upset stomach from all the magical traveling was telling her otherwise. Magic is real and she could feel its very existence in her bones.

After a while of walking in the woods Lily asked Neal, "So, where are we heading? Arthur said my parents were here, so they must be close by."

"We're heading back into town… back to Storybrooke. If your folks are here, then they'll be there too."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, all I know is, my sister's the town's Sheriff. She pretty much knows everything there is to know about Storybrooke. We just need to find her and she'll help you get back to your mom and dad."

The thought of being reunited with her parents made her smile. As they walked, a small breeze wafted through the trees causing Lily to cover her arms. Neal turned and noticed Lily's chill. Almost automatically, he took off his own jacket and handed it to her.

"Thank you," said Lily graciously accepting the jacket.

"It seemed like the right thing to do," replied Neal with a warm smile.

"But, won't _you_ get cold?"

"I'll be fine. Besides, you're not from around here. I'm betting your home is really far away. My home isn't too far. I'll just get another one when we get there."

"Are we getting any closer?" she asked as she slipped her arms through the sleeves of his big jacket.

"Just a little while longer. Hopefully, we'll get to our folks in time before Henry wakes up."

The kids trekked on and hoped that Lily's kick to Author's face gave them enough time to escape the woods and into the safety of their parents' arms.

* * *

 **I'm so glad that my Henry twist didn't turn you guys away. Thank you Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, ladybugsmomma, DNS Akina, NatalieMosherRumbelle and Cryptic Cobra for your review on the previous chapter! As always, it is a pleasure to hear from you and read your comments and reviews. See you next chapter!**


	6. Accusation and Speculation

The sun rose and shone through a gap of a parted curtain in the living room. The light woke Gold up from an exhaustive slumber and his eyes shot open, realizing that he was lying on the couch and not the floor. Gold wondered how long he had been asleep, but concluded that it had been long enough for the sun to have risen again. Another day lost to sleep when they could be out there searching for their daughter.

He looked about him and felt some pressure on his chest. Belle's head was resting against his abdomen facing away from him. She was kneeling on the ground beside the couch where he laid and waited for him to wake. He lifted his hand and began petting her hair.

"Belle…" he said gently rousing her. "What happened?"

"Rumple?" she replied worriedly, sitting up and facing him more clearly. "Are you ok? All you said before passing out was 'Henry' and then something about your 'heart' and then apologizing."

"I tried to fight off the dagger's command. I thought I was able to overcome it, but then I felt a sudden pain in my chest and was compelled to obey. I think that trauma mixed with my already exhausted self was what rendered me unconscious."

Belle shook her head. "Why did you go off to the shop by yourself? I know that's where you went. When I felt the dagger's command I knew exactly where you were." She sighed heavily, "Rumple… We agreed we were going to go there together in the morning."

In a soft voice he answered, "I didn't want to endanger you."

"As long as I'm with you I'm not in danger." He was throwing up walls. She continued, "Why did you really go?"

He sighed and admitted, "You were going to stop me. I couldn't rest until I found her. It didn't feel right to be here resting knowing that Lily was out there by herself."

After hearing his response, she realized she couldn't blame him for wanting to find their daughter and so she paused to reflect on her next reply. "But… this isn't New York. Arthur is not only a criminal, but our enemy. We don't know his weakness or his power. We can't just brashly confront a beast we know nothing about."

"The only beast anybody should be afraid of," Gold said while sitting up slowly and pointing to himself, "is me."

"But we're in a place with magic now and… we're moving blindly into unknown forces. The result of our hasty actions could bring about a terrible whiplash harming you, me and Lily."

"That's not all true," Gold stated.

"What's not true?"

"I know who Arthur is."

"Who is he?"

"Henry."

"How do you know?"

"I know because Henry has the dagger."

"You think Henry has the dagger?" Rumple nodded as Belle got up and sat down on the couch next to him. Without breaking eye-contact Belle asked, "How?"

Rumple shook his head in shame, "I should have known when we first got here that it was Henry. When we arrived here at the house, I had the place protected under blood magic, just like I did with the dagger back at the castle. And… I'm afraid with Cogsworth, the only other person besides myself to have access to it was Henry."

"I suppose that could explain why the dagger's commands haven't been too horrible or demanding, but why would he go to these lengths to kidnap Lily?"

"To bring us back into Storybrooke, of course."

"Yes, but why? What would make Henry think that kidnapping was his only way of bringing us back?"

"Perhaps Henry has changed more than we realized."

"…and perhaps… he knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows that we would have never left New York unless it involved our family. But… this doesn't sound like Henry at all. How did he get this way?"

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Next time we see him we'll just have to confront him about it," Rumple said as he got up from off the couch to answer the door. Belle followed after him thinking they were confronting Henry, but was surprised to discover Emma, Regina, Mary-Margaret, David, Robin and Killian when Rumple opened the door.

"Gold," said Emma standing directly in front of the door with the tone of surprise. Emma's parents stood behind her along with Killian who stood only just a few feet away from them.

"So it is true, then. Henry wasn't lying," said Regina who was standing beside Emma, and just behind Regina stood Robin.

"Where is Henry?" asked Belle from behind Rumplestiltskin, suddenly realizing how crowded their front porch was.

"He's with Neal," chimed in David.

"Henry usually watches Neal in the mornings before seeing him off to school," added Mary-Margaret.

"His life may be in danger," said Belle.

"Why?" asked Mary-Margaret with concern.

"Has Henry seemed differently lately?" Gold asked.

The question gave everyone in the party pause. Everyone shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders except for Emma who responded, "I… think he has." Everyone turned to look at her. She looked stunned to have everyone suddenly staring at her, "I… only noticed about a day ago. I couldn't shake this feeling. There was something off about how he spoke… like, he was using words that aren't part of his usual vocabulary and… when I questioned his plans for the day he seemed… almost affronted that I had even asked. It was very strange and I couldn't put my finger on it until now."

"When did Henry tell you we were in town?" inquired Belle to the party.

"Just this morning over the phone," answered David, "right after we dropped off Neal at the diner to wait for him."

"He did mention that he was going to be a little late picking Neal up," noted Mary-Margaret whose brows furrowed with concern.

Gold looked over at both Emma and Regina, and in an accusatory tone asked, "Why didn't either of you answer your phones when we called yesterday?"

"We didn't get any such phone call!" Regina retorted.

"Yeah, we only just learned of your arrival literally fifteen minutes ago," said Emma defensively as she looked down at her phone to double-check.

"Henry never told us why you were back in town," David stated.

"Yes. What brings you back into town?" asked Robin.

"Our daughter was kidnapped and we were told on a ransom letter to come to Storybrooke," said Belle worriedly as her lip trembled.

"And we believe that Henry kidnapped her," said Gold.

"What?!" cried everyone in disbelief. "Henry wouldn't!"

"He would never!"

Without so much as blinking an eye, Gold continued, "It's Henry. Only this time, he's going by another pseudonym, calling himself Arthur."

"Arthur… as in Camelot? Merlin? Knights of the round table?" Emma asked out loud to which Gold nodded. The family had a bunch of questions and mixed feelings towards the accusation. Finally, Killian shouted above the uproar, "What makes you so sure that it was Henry who kidnapped her?"

"We tried to gain access to my shop to complete a tracking spell, but couldn't and the only reason why is because we were commanded not to," Belle said. She looked over at Gold who admitted, "Henry has my dagger."

"Henry has your dagger?" exclaimed Emma. "How?"

"His pocket-watch," answered Gold, "has the ability to travel to different realms. I had the dagger cloaked under blood magic at my castle. He's the only other person with the means and my bloodline to have retrieved it."

Emma backed away from the crowded porch and moved over towards Killian to dial out on her cell phone for Henry. Mary-Margaret then turned to her daughter and reached for her arm, "Emma… if what you, Belle and Gold are saying is true, then we need to go find Neal." It felt as if Emma's parents were asking permission to go off and leave.

Emma nodded, recognizing and understanding their need to depart abruptly and replied, "Go, go! I'll call you if something turns up."

Immediately, both David and Mary-Margaret took off in David's truck, excusing themselves from the rest of the group.

"Cogsworth," said Regina with the tone of shock and disappointment. "He promised he would…" Regina began to say, but then realized that he hadn't promised to tell them. She continued, "He actually found it and never told any of us."

"Not only has he found it, he's used it and has somehow found my dagger," said Gold.

"He's been controlling us with the dagger since the moment we got here," added Belle, "We still share a half of each other's hearts, so he's been manipulating both of us."

Regina was still stunned by the news she was learning and questioned their accusation skeptically, "But have you seen him use it?" Belle and Gold answered Regina by shaking their heads. Neither one could actually admit to seeing Henry use the dagger. Regina continued defensively, "Then you can't be sure that it's Henry!"

"Well then who else could have gotten the dagger if it was being protected by magic of his blood?" questioned Belle back to Regina.

Regina argued, "Why hasn't your master revealed himself then, or herself for that matter? This doesn't sound like Henry at all. He knew of your happiness when you both moved away from here. This also doesn't make any sense. Up until now this town has been peaceful if not prosperous."

"So no one's been cursed?" asked Belle.

"No," replied Regina indignantly.

"Henry lied to us then," stated Gold boldly.

"Yeah," agreed Belle, "That's not what he said to us on the phone while we were on our way here from New York."

"I can't get a hold of Henry," shouted Emma from Gold's lawn. Everyone turned to look at her. "He's not answering his phone."

With Gold's patience wearing thin he spoke with irritation, "We don't have time to argue this." He stepped back into his home and began walking over to the dining room to grab his daughter's jacket. Along the way he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the last ingredient to the tracking spell, "our daughter is out there somewhere and her life may be in danger."

"Wait! Rumple! What if Henry's been cursed?" Belle called after him.

 _ **MAIN STREET. EDGE OF TOWN. FOREST.**_

Rumple paused suddenly and then looked over at Belle. Noticing the couple's sudden halt, Emma responded, "What? What is it?"

Belle replied, "The dagger is calling us. We've got to go."

"Where?" asked Robin.

"The end of Main street," Belle stammered as if unsure she was interpreting the dagger's command correctly, "towards the edge of town by the forest."

With his daughter's jacket still in hand he pocketed the missing ingredient and took Belle's hand. In a giant cloud of dark purple smoke the couple vanished, leaving the familial entourage with mouths agape.

* * *

 **Another short chapter. Will edit and post again soon. Like probably Tuesday.**

 **Imusicluver23, Montreat11, Grace5231973, NatalieMosherRumbelle, ladybugsmomma, and CrypticCobra thank you so much for reading and reviewing chapter 5. I'm terribly sorry I wasn't able to thank you individually. I've been a bit distracted, but I wanted to let all of you know that I have read your incredible comments, reviews and theories. You guys are way too cool. See you next chapter!**


	7. Reunion

David and Mary-Margaret parked in front of Granny's diner and got out of the truck.

"Should we let people know that Gold and Belle are back in town?" David asked his wife.

"No. We shouldn't set panic to the town unless there's a definitive reason for people to be concerned. They're only here to find their daughter."

"I don't know. Gold looked pretty comfortable back at his home, almost like they never left."

"I can't even think about that right now. We need to find our son. We can figure out their living situation later."

They ran into the diner looking about the establishment and saw only Ruby serving coffee to one of the usual customers. Mary-Margaret immediately ran up to Ruby at the counter and in a panicked voice asked, "Ruby! Where's Granny?"

"She's at the shooting range practicing with her crossbow. Why?" Ruby said looking to her friends to see if she could be of any assistance.

"Have you seen Neal?" David asked.

"Did you see him leave with Henry?" Mary-Margaret added.

"Only from when you dropped him off here this morning. He left the diner at the usual time for school, but I didn't see him leave with anyone. I just assumed the bus came and he left with it. Is everything alright?"

"I hope so. Thank you Ruby," said David.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ruby asked, noticing their worried faces.

"If you see Neal and he comes back to the diner, could you give us a call?" asked Mary-Margaret.

"Of course," nodded Ruby.

David looked over at his wife with a perplexed look on his face. "Could it be possible that he _actually_ went to school today?" Mary-Margaret rolled her eyes and turned to her husband with an incredulous look. David sighed. It was pointless believing that their children were anything but typical or well-behaved. "Well then, where do you think he is?"

"With Henry out there…" Mary-Margaret answered. "I just can't believe Henry would do something like this? He would never harm his own family. He's never harmed Neal. They're practically siblings."

"I trust Emma's instincts. If she suspects something…" David paused for a moment and debated revealing his honest opinion. But the truth was, he honestly didn't know what to think about the whole situation. The only thing he could think of was finding their son. He quickly changed his tone from worry to encouragement, "We shouldn't lose hope. One thing's for certain, Henry's in trouble. For all we know he could be cursed."

"David… Henry has Cogsworth. He could have taken Neal back to the Enchanted Forest."

"No… we mustn't think that way. If Henry kidnapped Lily and his only ransom was to bring Gold and Belle back to Storybrooke, then he and Neal are still here."

"Well, where could Henry have possibly taken Neal?" Mary-Margaret said looking to her husband for hope.

"The shop?"

The two parents quickly left the diner and jogged over to the Pawn shop and discovered to their disappointment that the shop was closed and locked. David tried to turn the doorknob, but was unsuccessful. "Well, where to now?" David asked his wife.

Mary-Margaret gave out a frustrated sigh, "We should have listened to Emma and bought Neal a cell phone."

"We also agreed and thought that eight years old was way too young for a cell phone," countered David.

"I know. I know…" said Mary-Margaret out loud. They ransacked their brains until Mary-Margaret thought of something and said, "Doesn't Henry's apartment complex have a community playground close by to it? You know… the one by the woods?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Whenever Neal is with Henry that's where they go to hang out sometimes. We could start looking for him there."

David and Mary-Margaret left the shop's stoop and got back into the vehicle. They drove all the way down the town's Main Street and parked in the parking lot in front of the playground. They got out of the truck and were greeted by a cloud of dark purple smoke. The smoke cleared and the Charmings found themselves suddenly next to Belle and Gold.

"Belle! Gold!" exclaimed Mary-Margaret who was taken by surprise.

"What are you two doing here?" David asked.

Belle parted from her husband and looked about her environment slightly disoriented. She saw the Charmings and answered, "The dagger. We were summoned here."

"Why?" David wondered out loud.

"I'd like to know the answer to that as well," Gold replied wearily, still holding his daughter's jacket. He looked around the area expecting to see his master finally reveal himself. Suddenly, they heard twigs snap in the woods nearby.

… …

Neal's fingers were getting cold so he stuck them inside his jean pockets. A cold breeze kept blowing as they continued walking silently through the woods. Lily looked over at the little boy who appeared to be shivering but was doing his best to hide it from her.

"Here," Lily said as she took off his jacket and handed it back to him. "You're cold."

"But you were cold."

"I'm warmer now. Thank you." Neal took his jacket back and slipped it back on. "Oh, and um… thank you for that other thing."

"What other thing?"

"For saving me."

"You saved yourself. I saw you knock out my nephew. That was pretty awesome."

Lily giggled and looked away bashfully. "That _was_ pretty cool, huh? I didn't even know I had it in me." Neal smirked and they continued walking in silence. Lily continued, "Storybrooke… this place is so unreal."

"That's because this place isn't real. It doesn't exist."

"What do you mean? How does it not exist when you and I are walking in it?"

"Magic," Neal said simply as he led the way. His response left her stunned. He was accustomed to it as if it was as natural and normal as breathing. Is that why this place felt so different?

"How…," Lily hesitantly began to ask, "how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Magic. That disappearing thing."

"Oh! Well, uh, it's kind of hard to explain. You, um… think of the place you want to go… like, picture it in your head. Then you close your eyes and pretend you're already there."

"You're right. That is hard."

"Told ya."

"What else do you know how to do?"

"Nothing else really. I'm kind of learning how to make stuff appear in my hands, but that's harder."

"Oh," replied Lily.

They walked a bit further. As they walked, Neal would glance at the little girl curiously. Lily hadn't noticed his gawking until she looked up from the ground and caught him glaring at her. "What?" she asked. "You keep looking at me funny."

"Oh! Uh…" Neal said combing his fingers awkwardly through his short hair, "it's just that, no one from out there has ever come to visit Storybrooke. What's it like out there, beyond the border?"

"Well for starters, there isn't any magic in New York."

"Do you go to school? Are there even schools out there?"

"Of course I go to school. Don't be silly."

"Well other than your name, I really don't know anything about you. What do you like to do when you're not at school?"

"Read. I love books!" Lily said enthusiastically.

"We do have a library here in Storybrooke!" Neal said trying to match her enthusiasm, but then quickly lowered his excitement, "But… they're probably not as great as the ones in New York."

"I love libraries! All of them! Big and small. I think libraries are the happiest and safest places in the world. I like to go to my mom's library sometimes and hide in different corners to read. I find that the smaller ones have the best corners," remarked Lily beaming.

"There's a big building in the middle of town. You can't miss it. It has a clock tower and everything. It's the town's library. Maybe, when we get closer, we can go."

"That would be wonderful, but… I think I just want to be with my parents."

"I understand."

They continued on in silence when suddenly they could hear adult voices in the distance. The woods began to clear and from what Lily could see there were four adults, two of which she recognized immediately.

Lily gasped with relief and cried out, "Papa! Mama!"

"Lily!" exclaimed Gold and Belle as they ran towards their daughter.

"Mom? Dad?!" shouted Neal, surprised to see his own parents at the forest's edge too.

"Neal?!" said both the Charmings in shock as they too followed after Belle and Gold running into the woods. Neal ran to his parents and they all fell into a loving embrace.

Belle ran to her daughter and fell to her knees. Lily ran into her mother's arms first and was embraced with a thousand motherly kisses. Belle cooed and cried at her daughter, "My baby! Oh honey! My love! Are you ok?"

"Mama! I'm ok Mama!" cried Lily. Lily looked up to her father and rejoiced as she reached for him. "Papa!"

He quickly plucked her from the ground and lifted her up effortlessly. As soon as he picked her up he held her close, cupping his hand protectively over her head. Lily wrapped her legs around her father and hugged him tightly. Belle began to cry as she got up from the ground and got closer to her daughter in her husband's arms, leaning her head against her daughter's body. He closed his eyes and exhaled a sigh of relief as he held both of his loved ones in his arms. He buried his face in his daughter's hair and kissed her head. "You're safe now, sweetheart. Papa's here."

"Papa," Lily said while looking down. As she looked at the ground, she couldn't help but notice her father standing without assistance. Never in all her life had she ever seen her father walk stoically on his own two feet, so it was an odd sight for her to see. "Papa, your cane! Where's your cane, Papa?" she asked out of concern.

"Oh that," he remarked while looking down at his own two feet. "I don't need it here."

Rumple kissed his daughter's cheek before setting her down. With his daughter's jacket still in hand he quickly wrapped it around her.

"But… why?" Lily asked innocently.

Belle looked over at Rumple and they both knelt down in front of Lily. He looked at his daughter, but couldn't muster up the courage to tell her the truth about them just yet. "That's not important right now. You don't have to worry about that. I'm here now and I'll protect you," he replied as he brought Lily in for another hug. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Suddenly Regina and Emma appeared in a magical cloud of their own. To Rumplestiltskin their timing was perfect and a welcomed distraction.

"What are you guys doing here?" Emma asked, but as soon as she looked around she saw the family reunion for herself. "Oh. Hey Neal," Emma said to her younger brother.

"Hey Emma," Neal called to his sister back timidly.

Regina strode over toward Neal and asked seriously, "Neal, where's Henry? Have you seen him?"

Neal bit his lip and became suddenly shy, doing his best to sink deeper into his mother's arms. David looked down at his son expectantly and prodded, "Son, Regina asked you a question."

Neal shrugged his shoulders. Rumple knew he was hiding something, but instead of interrogating someone else's child he figured it wiser and more productive to ask his own, "Darling, do you remember where you were? Where you just came from?"

Lily nodded incessantly, having no reservation in telling her own father the truth. "I was in a house in the woods. Neal found me and brought me here."

"Neal! What were you doing out there in the woods by yourself?!" scolded Mary-Margaret to her son.

Belle reached for her daughter's arms holding them dearly in her hands and asked, "Do you know who took you?"

Lily nodded and when she looked up her eyes widened with fear. Behind her parents shoulders and Neal's family stood her kidnapper. Lily screamed in horror as she jumped into her father's arms. Gold quickly scooped up his daughter and both he and Belle turned along with everyone else in the group to see who it was that frightened Lily so.

"Henry!" said both the Charmings, who was just as startled by the sudden sight of him as they were.

"Mother," Henry said boastfully as he walked passed both his mothers. As he strode through his family toward Rumplestiltskin he glanced at each person greeting them with a cocky smile. "Grandfather," said Henry as he looked at David. Henry finished his strut and stopped right in front of Rumplestiltskin, "Grandfather."

"You're no grandson of mine," rejected Rumplestiltskin.

"Oh! I'm hurt," feigned Henry as he placed a dejected hand on his chest, pretending to be insulted. "But… I suppose there is some truth to that. I'm only using Henry's body. I… am Arthur."

"What have you done to Henry?" demanded Regina who was frozen in place, unsure how to approach her own son.

"I'm only trying to give him his happy ending," Arthur reasoned as he looked about Henry's confused family. "I'm sorry, gosh, Henry was confused when he found out about this too…" Arthur took his hand and waved it above his head. A translucent wizard's cap with embroidered stars and moons magically revealed itself above his head.

"The Sorcerer's hat," remarked Rumplestiltskin. " _You_ have it? How?"

"That's right. You've been searching for this item for quite some time. Haven't you? You know what this hat does, don't you?" egged Arthur to Rumplestiltskin.

"It has the power to travel through time and realms," answered Rumplestiltskin.

"It can do so much more than that," said Arthur shaking his head.

Emma shouted at Arthur, "If you're Arthur, then where is Merlin?"

"Excellent observation Emma. I've always liked writing you, Savior. It's like you're limitless and can do no wrong. You see, you're not like these other characters here in Storybrooke, you are an original. There's no book out there that has your happy ending already written down, which makes you so rich in potential. It's so great for writing. Your character is very convenient to have around when writing resolutions to conflicts."

"What on Earth are you rambling on about?" Regina asked sarcastically.

Arthur turned to Regina and with widened excited eyes he moved closer to her. "Regina…" He said to her playfully. He even appeared thrilled to hear Regina's snarky comment. "Forgive me. When I get excited I tend to be a bit verbose. I'm just so ecstatic to be here amongst you all. Come, come, gather around. Let me tell you a story. Henry's story. I personally believe it's the best way if I'm to explain all of this to you guys. Seven years ago…"

* * *

 **I'm sorry to leave you on another cliff-hanger, cut-off chapter. The answers are coming! I promise! These next few chapters will be like reading another story within a story, explaining what happened to Storybrooke during the last seven years through the perspective of Henry. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading my rendition on how Henry grows up, what happens in Storybrooke, how he discovers the hat, and why. So I think you'll find it interesting, entertaining and hopefully informative.**

 **Thank you so very much Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, CrypticCobra, ladybugsmomma, and NatalieMosherRumbelle for reading and reviewing Chapter 6. All of your reviews are like little presents in my inbox and I am forever grateful for them. See you next chapter!  
**


	8. Happy Birthday

_**...7 years ago…**_

Henry stared at the wall calendar in his room, frowning.

"Henry!" called out Regina from downstairs. "Today's the day. They're moving. Are you ready to go?"

"I'll be down in a minute!" shouted Henry from the depths of his room. They had practiced this before, Henry and his grandfather, Rumplestiltskin. He wasn't nervous. If anything, Henry felt depressed. He didn't want to see his new baby Aunt Lily, Belle or his grandfather move away.

At the border they worked on magically turning off Storybrooke's magic and then cloaking the town, which Henry mastered in just two days. The goal was to turn magic off so that when they left they would still have their memories. He could still remember the conversation he had with his grandfather while at the town line:

" _Grandpa, are you sure want to move?"_

" _Yes, Henry. This is our happy ending. Besides, I'm sure nobody will miss us."_

" _That's not true… I'll miss you guys."_

" _That's very kind of you Henry, but I think this will be the best… for all of us."_

Henry quickly got dressed and hurried downstairs to meet his mother. They got into the car and drove to the town line where they would be meeting the rest of his family along with a few other people from town. As much as Belle and Gold wanted their moving away to be discreet, it wasn't. So naturally, all of Storybrooke knew. It was a small town after all. However, only the closest of friends and family came to see that they were sent off properly.

Regina parked behind Emma's Volkswagen and were greeted by a slew of other people. Gold's Cadillac was parked in the middle of the street right in front of the red line. All the rest of the cars parked accordingly off on the side of the road. Regina and Henry both got out of the car and saw that Belle and Gold were already saying their goodbyes. Gold held his daughter and was talking to Emma while Belle hugged and kissed her father. Regina and Henry walked straight towards Gold. As if announcing her arrival to them, Regina spoke, "You pack light."

"Everything we need is already over there. The condo is fully furnished and as far as clothes, we'll just get more when we arrive there. Other than the few essentials we would need for ourselves and for Lily, I would say we're all set," said Gold.

"Not completely," stated Henry. Henry waved his hand and red smoke appeared. When the cloud disappeared a cane magically appeared in his hand and he handed it to his grandfather.

Gold scoffed and then humbly took the cane from him, "Thank you Henry. I almost forgot about that."

After saying her goodbyes to Dr. Hopper and Ruby, Belle came over to Henry and pulled out a set of keys. "I think it's us who should be doing the gifting," Belle said as she handed the keys to her car to Henry. "It's all yours. With all the subways and public transportation, I won't really need it in New York."

Henry's eyes lit up as he gratefully took the keys from her. "Wow! Belle! Thank you!" Henry said while smiling. The keys were barely in his hands for three seconds before Regina snatched them away from him. Henry looked to his mother disappointedly, to which she replied, "When you are old enough… and with a license."

Emma had the look of relief on her face as she leaned over to Regina and whispered, "Thank you."

"And I have a gift to you," Gold said as he gently handed Lily off to Belle. "When you reach of age, I'm giving my house and the shop to you."

"What?!" cried the family.

"Henry is my grandson, I would think it's only appropriate. Besides, it's protected under blood magic and other protective enchantments," Gold continued while pulling out a set of keys from his pocket and placing them into Henry's hands. "The residences will only open to you, but _only_ when you're ready to receive them. The properties are yours."

"How will I know?" Henry asked.

"Continue your training with your mothers and you'll know soon enough," Gold replied with smile. Unexpectedly, Henry hugged his grandfather. The sudden affection caught him off guard and he slowly lifted a hand to pat Henry's back.

"Thank you," said Henry while squeezing his grandfather.

"You're welcome Henry," said Gold. When they pulled apart from each other, Gold cleared his throat and awkwardly shuffled his feet as he stepped back away from the group. "Are you ready Henry? Just like we practiced."

"Yeah, I got this," nodded Henry towards his grandfather.

Gold nodded back to Henry and then headed to his car. Belle turned with Lily and opened the back door to the car, placing her carefully inside her car seat. As soon as Belle and Gold got into the car, Gold looked up into his rear view mirror and saw Regina approaching him. He rolled down the window and allowed one last correspondence. He placed his keys into the ignition and then turned his head to look at his old apprentice.

Regina bent low to peer into his side window and said while leaning her hand on the window, "I suppose, if you need anything… you have my number."

Gold nodded and then unexpectedly reached for Regina's hand. Out of respect for each other, he held it firmly and said sincerely, "For what it's worth… I hope you find your happiness. Thank you Regina."

Regina smiled to the man and replied, "Good luck Gold."

Gold smiled back to her as Regina backed away from the vehicle. He turned on the ignition and the car sprung into life, waiting to eagerly cross the border. Regina looked at Henry giving him a nod, cueing him to go.

Henry closed his eyes and extended his open hands. As soon as he lowered them magic disappeared. The difference couldn't be seen, but it was definitely felt. Gold took a deep breath and then shifted the gear into drive and drove across the border and into the real world. When the car left completely, Henry raised his hands bringing magic back and waved over the surrounding area. Henry didn't want to place the protection spell over Storybrooke, but knew it had to be done. If Storybrooke's magic became open to the non-magical world it would be a spectacle, disrupting the tranquility and happiness of the people and citizens within.

Seeing that the deed had been done, Henry sighed disappointedly. His eyes continued to follow after the car, which was now only a speck in the distance. Emma placed a caring hand over her son's shoulders and watched him look on into the distance.

"Come. Let's head back to Granny's for your birthday cake. I hear that it's chocolate," Emma said as she backed away from her son. She turned around and started walking to her car.

Henry slowly backed away from the border and said silently and sadly to himself, "Happy Birthday to me."

… …

The usual friends of family came to Granny's Diner to celebrate Henry's birthday, but the other real reason everyone celebrated was the rejoicing of Rumplestiltskin leaving town. Henry sat at the diner listening in and eavesdropping on the joyous sentiments.

"I just can't believe he's gone," stated Doc as he took a swig from his pint.

"Well believe it brother. If you ask me, good riddance," Leroy added.

Henry looked down the counter and saw both his mothers conversing with Hercules and Elsa. He got up from his stool to place some space between himself and the dwarfs and walked over to his mothers. As he neared his parents he could hear the conversation become more distinct.

"…so that's it. No more Rumplestil- I mean, Mr. Gold," Elsa said trying to gain confirmation from Emma.

"Yep. They left earlier this morning," acknowledged Emma.

Hercules took a sip from his cup and asked, "And he left with nothing?"

"Well not nothing, but" corrected Regina, "they certainly did pack light. Both he and Belle seemed pretty adamant about starting a new life. They are capable individuals. With Belle's academia and Gold's financial wizardry I'm sure they'll do just fine." Regina looked down on the ground and for a moment appeared a bit somber. She took a sip of her drink smiling briefly to the group to feign happiness and said, "Whatever makes them happy."

Emma lifted her glass and said, "To happy endings."

"Happy endings," said the collective group and they all clinked their individual drinks together, taking in the ceremonial sip.

Killian made his way towards the group, listening in as Henry was to their conversation. As much as Killian wanted to partake in the festivities, he couldn't help but feel suspicious of the whole thing. He walked up behind Emma and said, "I just can't believe he left without taking any magical souvenirs. It doesn't seem like him at all to do that."

"Well, things change when you have kids," reasoned Emma as she glanced over at Henry with a smile. Henry looked on and grinned back. Emma turned back to Killian and continued with astonishment, "Apparently, Gold left his home and shop to Henry."

"That includes Henry's Cogsworth, right? That's still in his shop right?" asked Hercules.

"Who's Cogsworth?" asked Leroy, joining in on the conversation. The dwarf's timing couldn't have been any worse.

"Oh, it's just Henry's realm traveling device," answered Hercules blithely, not understanding the repercussions of his honest statement. "It's how I got here, along with that monster a couple of weeks ago… and that hydra."

Everyone turned to look at Hercules with contempt. Hercules, oblivious to what was going on, reacted defensively by saying, "What?"

"You mean Henry has had the ability to traverse to other worlds this entire time?! Why didn't you guys say anything to anybody? You know, some of us still want to go home right?!"

"What if some of us want to do commerce with the people outside of Storybrooke? If Henry was able to let Belle and Gold leave, why can't we?" said Dopey. Everyone turned to look at Dopey. Dopey never typically said anything, so the fact that he spoke shocked everyone in the room. Not only did he say something, he asked a legitimate question and his poignant insertion into the conversation only emphasized his point. Seeing that tension was mounting in the room, David and Mary-Margaret moved closer to the center of the conversation.

"Is everything alright?" asked David, while trying to look diplomatic.

"No!" Leroy said to David honestly, his voice escalated in a matter of seconds. "Your entire family has conveniently neglected to inform the rest of the community of its ability to go back home, or leave Storybrooke in general. Am I the only one who thinks this stinks?" Dopey leaned back away from the group to literally smell himself. "Not you Dopey," Leroy said to his brother as he rolled his eyes.

While holding Neal, Mary-Margaret looked over at Grumpy sternly and asked, "Are you really that unhappy Leroy?"

Just then a group of nuns came passed the group to exit. As Sister Astrid walked passed, she gave Leroy a heart-warming smile. He glanced upwards at Astrid and greeted her with a toothy smile of his own. As soon as she left the diner with the rest of her sisters he turned back to the rest of the group and replied with great confliction, "No."

"I suppose if you want…" suggested Emma, "we can always make special accommodations for you. I doubt you'd want to be entering the same world as Mr. Gold, though. He, at least, has had some experience living out there. You only have your cursed memories of what it's like and believe me, it's not a fairy tale."

"How about this," interrupted Regina addressing Leroy, "when Henry comes of age and gains access to the shop again, we can discuss the terms and use of it. But for now, it looks like you're stuck here with the rest of us." Much to the crowd's disappointment and dissatisfaction, the crowd dispersed. Regina looked over at Henry and got closer to him on the counter. "Henry…" she said to her son in a more subdued and serious voice. He looked up at his mother as she looked deeply into his eyes. "Promise me you'll let us know the moment you are able to enter your grandfather's shop. Now that everyone knows of its existence, it's crucial that the pocket-watch doesn't fall into the wrong hands. We don't want anybody from outside Storybrooke coming in without our knowledge."

Henry looked away from Regina and saw the rest of his family looking at him, eagerly awaiting his reply with bated breath. He felt every eye in the room stare at him with anticipation. The pressure to concede was imminent and inevitable and he could feel the weight of their futures rest on his shoulders. Henry didn't want to disappoint the family so he said looking back at his mother to ease everyone's fears, "I promise."

There seemed to be a collective sigh from the group as they all seemed to relax a little from the news.

"Well," said Emma, breaking the ice, "How about some cake, huh?"

Just then, Granny came out into the diner with a cake lit with candles bearing the number '15' in blue.

* * *

 **So this is the first of quite a few chapters dedicated to explaining what happened when Rumple and Belle moved away from Storybrooke. What do you think so far? I'm trying out this story within a story thing and I kinda like it.**

 **As always, I love reading your comments. Thank you Imusicluver23, CrypticCobra, ladybugsmomma, NatalieMosherRumbelle, Grace5231973, and Montreat11. Not only do you guys rock, but you all are oh-so clever. I like it! See you next chapter.**


	9. Take Me to the Church on Time

… _ **5 Years Ago…**_

Two years later and still the questioning of Henry's pocket-watch lingered around town. _Have you found it yet? Are you able to enter Gold's shop yet? Can we go back?_ Each time and to everyone's disappointment, Henry would shake his head and shrug his shoulders replying with a 'no'.

After a couple years of living under the same roof as her parents Emma moved out and found an apartment close by in a development at the end of town. Much to Henry's disgust, it was so that she and Killian could have some more privacy to themselves. However much Henry didn't like Killian, he definitely appreciated and respected how much he made his mother happy. So for the time being, Henry learned to settle with simply tolerating the once one-handed pirate.

The other major perk to Emma having her own apartment was Henry having a second bedroom, which is where Henry stood staring into the mirror. He huffed a frustrated sigh as he struggled aligning the two pieces to straighten his bowtie. "Mom!" called out Henry from his bedroom for Emma. Dressed in a tuxedo, he yanked the bow tie off and started over again.

"Yeah?" called back Emma as she entered his room in a pale light colored dress of her own. "What's up?"

"I can't figure out… this… darn thing!" Henry said as he twisted and folded the now wrinkled tie into a strange knot. Emma chuckled to herself as she conjured another bowtie in her hand.

"Let me help," said Emma as Henry tossed the crumpled tie onto his dresser. He looked at the bowtie in her hand and noticed the already assembled bow and clip.

"Oh," smiled Henry as she took the easy clip-on tie and wrapped it around his neck, "Well, I suppose that's much easier."

"To be fair, I don't even know how to tie a bowtie. Regular long ties, yes… bowties, no. Though, there is always YouTube."

"Ah, yes," agreed Henry, "The magic and wonders of YouTube."

Henry went to his bed and threw on a black vest. Emma took a step back and couldn't help but admire her son. "Well don't you look handsome?" she remarked with a smile.

"Mom…" Henry blushed as he went to his closet for his tuxedo jacket.

"You know… a suit looks great on you. It's very dashing." Henry silently slipped his arms through the sleeves as Emma seemed hesitant with her next statement. Not sure how to broach the subject, she simply blurted out, "So… are there any girls at school I should be aware of?"

"Mom…" said Henry, rolling his eyes.

"Boys?"

"Mom!"

"I'm just saying! As a proud mother, you look very handsome." Emma came closer to Henry and started affectionately brushing off the non-existent lint from the shoulder of his tuxedo jacket. "I'm just surprised you're not dating anybody. Isn't the school prom sometime soon?"

"It's later this spring and no, I… haven't asked anybody to prom yet. I've just been really focused on school and magic stuff."

"How have your lessons with Regina been going lately, by the way?"

"Good. Challenging. We've been working on potions, which by the way, I can now make a phenomenal wart remover."

Emma giggled, "That's good to know."

"or… a poison that renders you unconscious for about thirty-two hours," finished Henry. "Either way, I think it's an improvement."

Emma nodded her head hesitantly, "Sure?" She wanted to show her approval of his progress, but was also a little shocked by what he had created in the lessons. "I suppose there are worse things."

"Yeah, Regina says I'll be ready for curses or deadly tonics next week," said Henry as he turned to look at Emma. Henry noticed Emma's face and immediately saw her displeasure. He cracked a smile and said kiddingly, "I'm only joking Mom. Relax. Regina won't let me anywhere near her dark stuff unless she's like three inches away from me."

"Oh," said Emma as she smiled and exhaled a sigh of relief. "So… have you tried opening up Mr. Gold's shop yet?"

"Yeah. No luck though," said Henry as he shook his head. "Have you and Regina finished drawing up plans for how we're going to coordinate and ship people to and from Storybrooke?"

"I've been doing some research at work and… Regina and I are mostly going to model the Transportation Charter after the passport system that this world has already established here. Or, at least, that's what we've discussed so far. We're currently in the process of formally writing up the lingo for financial restitutions." Henry scrunched his face in confusion. Emma reiterated by clarifying, "In case damages from magical mishaps were to occur, who is liable and such. It'll all be incorporated as a tax for purchasing the passport… work stuff."

"Alright," said Henry turning to the mirror one last time. "I'm ready. Are you ready?"

Emma nodded her head and then waved her left hand over the other. In a cloud of red smoke she conjured a bouquet of roses. However, they weren't your typical roses. As Henry looked on, he noticed that the flowers' petals had all been splattered as if with red and white paint. Puzzled by the oddity in color choice Henry asked, "Those are some strange roses. Are they for the wedding?"

"Oh, well, it's for the ceremony tonight. I've decided to call it Wonderland Roses. When I asked Regina on her opinion for favorite color rose she couldn't decide between red and white. Red reminded her too much of her mother and white reminded her of… well, Snow White. I figured, why not both?"

"Oh, I get it," said Henry smiling and recognizing the new symbolism, "the painting of the roses. Like from Alice in Wonderland."

"Exactly," Emma said looking down at the roses pensively.

"Cold feet?"

"No! No. Let's… well… let's get this done. Regina said she'd meet us there right after work."

Henry looked down at his wrist-watch, "It's almost six. If we take the car, we'll be late. Magic?"

"Sure, but, from now on let's try to be a little faster and take the car. I know it's just a simple apparition, but I can't help feeling superstitious. You know that all magi-"

"-that all magic comes with a price. I know. I know, but just this once?"

"Just this once," smiled Emma as they both vanished from her apartment. They appeared just at the bottom steps of the church. "Are you ready?" she asked her son.

"Let's do this."

They both glanced at each other fondly before ascending the steps and entering the church. Inside the atrium at the end of the aisle stood Killian, Robin and Roland waiting for the rest of their party to arrive. As they passed the rows of empty pews, Robin stood at the end of the aisle straightening Roland's tie while Killian waited patiently for Emma. It was obvious from their everyday attire that this whole ceremony was done at the last minute, but nobody in the room seemed to care. It was after all, an intimate ceremony.

Robin looked up and said to Emma, "Have you seen Regina?"

Emma got closer and stopped, "No, I haven't." She looked behind her and offered, "I'll just go wait outside for her when she arrives."

Everyone nodded as Emma turned right back around to wait for Regina outside the church. Just as Emma stepped outside the doors Regina pulled up to the church in her Mercedes. Still dressed in her formal dress work clothes she stepped out of her car looking a bit frazzled but as regal as ever. Even as the wind tossed her hair, she still managed to keep such elegant poise.

"You're late," called Emma down to Regina.

"A Queen is never late," said Regina. "And besides, this is _my_ wedding."

"We're all here. Didn't want to start the show without you," Emma said to Regina as they walked towards each other. With the Wonderland Roses still in her hands, Emma handed the flowers off to Regina.

"Not that you could have," said Regina as she accepted the flowers with an endearing smile. She inhaled the flowers wonderful scent and exhaled with a sigh of relief. Slowly, she looked up at Emma and said sincerely, "I wanted to thank you for not inviting your parents along. The reason why I chose to have an impromptu small wedding was so that it wouldn't turn into a three-ring circus."

"If you're anything like me, I wouldn't want a big ceremony either. It just seems overwhelming."

"It's not that. It's just… unfortunately, I already had the big wedding… a royal fairy-tale wedding actually,… with your grandfather." Emma furrowed her brow and grimaced slightly over the comment. The moment was only slightly awkward because they both knew exactly how closely tied their family was. Despite the weird family history they shared, Regina continued, "That whole time, even through all the pomp and circumstance, I had often times wondered what my wedding with Daniel might have looked like. I'm sure something small and simple, like this. But this relationship I have with Robin it's… well, it's different. Therefore," Regina continued in her authoritative manner, "I think it's only appropriate to have this wedding be different as well."

Emma nodded concurring with Regina's sentiments. "I can understand that," said Emma as she looked around them. Regina paused to reflect on her past love, but the awkward silence Emma was experiencing drew Regina back when Emma asked, "So, do you wanna get married now, or what?"

Regina looked up at Emma and smiled genuinely. They both smiled at each other as Regina led the way into the church.

… …

When Emma left the church to greet Regina it left Henry, Roland, Killian and Robin to talk amongst themselves. Henry sat in a pew next to Roland a few rows back from the altar and immediately started talking about school and archery lessons. Meanwhile, Robin was left alone to make small talk with Killian.

"So, uh," said Killian looking around the church, "who's officiating this last-minute wedding?"

"Friar Tuck," answered Robin. Noticing Killian's concern on the officiator's absence he continued, "He's just conversing with Mother Superior out in the hall. He should be arriving any moment."

Killian couldn't help but admire Henry's seemingly enjoyable conversation with Roland unlike his own with Robin. Robin gawked lovingly at his son as he leaned forward on the front pew.

"So mate, I have to ask…" Killian began to say as Robin looked over at him, "why the hasty wedding?"

Robin chuckled to himself as he replied, "We didn't want to make a fuss. We've both been through weddings before, both of them grandiose. All the pageantry would bring up too many old memories from our past lives that had once defined us. Well, we don't want our pasts to define us anymore. So we're starting fresh. By week's end I'm sure everyone's going to find out somehow, but hopefully by then we'll already be on our honeymoon enjoying ourselves and not here to endure the community's opinion when our union becomes headline news. That's why we're doing this now. Besides it's impossible to do any covert planning around here. We both know way too many people." Robin couldn't help but notice Killian's shaky demeanor with his erect posture and distant far-off look. "What's wrong man? You seem more nervous than I am, and _I'm_ the one who's getting married today."

Killian grinned with embarrassment and scoffed at the stress he was feeling. It took him a few moments to compose himself before he could explain, "Marriage… funny thing about it… for a sea captain we live, eat and breathe by the sea. Captains fall in love with the turbulent waters, but can never fare it alone. That's why we marry our ships and give them female names."

"But you no longer have a ship to call your own," Robin pointed out.

"Aye, which is why I have this…" said Killian as he pulled out a ring box from within the depths of his jacket. He opened the box to reveal a beautiful engagement ring. The design featured an ocean wave made of silver, which enveloped a circle-cut diamond.

"Blimey! Is that ring for-"

"Emma," Killian said, cutting Robin off. "Yes."

"Well?! Come off it, why haven't you proposed to her yet? Ah, let me guess… you don't have the father's consent."

"No, I have David's blessing," Killian looked up from the floor into Robin's eyes and then turned to look at Henry, "it's Henry's I don't."

"Why do you seek Henry's consent?"

Killian blinked a few times then looked down at his feet as he scuffed them across the floor. He seemed somber as he mournfully reflected, "For closure, from Neal. His father and I never saw eye to eye, but that didn't mean I stopped loving or respecting him. Henry's father loved Emma first. Like his father, Henry and I don't exactly see eye to eye as well. I feel that… with Henry's blessing I have, in some small way, Neal's blessing as well. It feels like the right thing to do."

Suddenly the doors opened up from the outside and a light casting Regina's silhouette was seen. Killian quickly stuffed the engagement ring back into his jacket pocket, hiding it just in time from Emma who had just followed after Regina. Both Henry and Roland immediately got up from the pew and met Killian and Robin by the altar.

"Where's the Friar?" Regina asked as she approached Robin down the aisle. Just then a set of doors flung open from the inside and a heavy-set man in dark brown robes ran in to meet the betrothed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" said Friar Tuck with his face red and flustered. "I'm here! Are you ready?"

Everyone around Robin and Regina assembled and assumed their positions. Roland stood next to his father and Killian beside the young boy. Henry stood beside Regina and Emma beside their son. Regina beamed, grinning from ear to ear as she stared at her future husband. The corners of Robin's eyes wrinkled from smiling so much. Without losing her loving gaze at Robin, Regina replied, "More than ever."

… …

The ceremony was quick and quaint. For everyone present the wedding was quiet, intimate and beautiful. Unfortunately, when Regina and Robin opened the chapel doors they were immediately greeted with a loud cheer. Every friendly face they knew from town had shown up to the church to celebrate the newlyweds.

Regina turned to Emma with an unpleasant look, "I thought I told you not to tell anybody."

To Emma's surprise she replied honestly, "I didn't. I swear!"

"It was me," said Henry with a mischievous smile. Both of his mothers turned to him unhappily. "Come on, Mom. Today is a happy day. Today marks the beginning of your happy ending."

"That's where you're wrong, my love," said Regina while looking nervously at the crowd below. She turned to her son and looked at him with the greatest sincerity and a joyous smile of her own. "My happy ending started a long time ago… when you came into my life." Regina reached over and lovingly touched the bottom of Henry's chin. "I love you Henry."

"I love you too, Mom," smiled Henry.

Regina turned to face the crowd and hand in hand with Robin slowly descended the stairs. Along the way, they were greeted with smiles, pats on the back, and congratulatory remarks. Robin was all but smiles, shaking hands with friends he knew. Regina was surprised, timidly waving at people who were once her enemies but were now her friends.

Regina felt trapped as David and Mary-Margaret approached her and Robin with big smiles. David came to Robin and shook his hand while Mary-Margaret immediately came over to Regina and hugged her. Reluctantly, Regina accepted the hug. Mary-Margaret pulled back from the hug and with tears in her eyes said jubilantly, "I knew this day would come! That you could find happiness. I am just beyond happy for you both!"

Regina stepped awkwardly from the embrace and grinned awkwardly at Mary-Margaret. Regina blushed then smiled appreciatively. She struggled to muster up the words. Then with upmost sincerity Regina said, "Thank you… Snow."

Robin and Regina moved on from the Charmings. She didn't expect to see so many people come to celebrate their union. It was the most unexpected moment that she had secretly been looking forward to all her life. To be loved and adored by her people. Granted, there were a lot people in town that still had misgivings about her and her past, but she didn't care about them now. It was this moment and it was so overwhelming that she was moved to tears.

At the end of the procession stood a beautiful white horse and its owner, Kristoff, next to it. Kristoff offered and handed off the reigns to Robin who graciously accepted the elegant beast. Robin turned to his wife and offered his hand. Regina looked down at her work dress and realized that she wasn't suited to ride a horse. She wiped the residual happy tears away from her face and before she could say 'no' Robin lifted her up by the waist and hoisted her onto the horse. While she side-straddled the animal she watched Robin place his foot into the side stirrup and swing his other leg effortlessly over the horse's body sitting directly behind her. The moment they were situated they immediately trotted away from the crowd, waving goodbye to the people who greeted them at the promenade.

Emma turned to Henry, "How on Earth did you accomplish this? We literally were told to meet Regina here like forty minutes ago."

"I knew Robin was going to marry Regina."

"You knew?"

Henry nodded. "Regina's family are all deceased, so Robin asked me for her hand."

"Did he now?"

"Yep."

"And all these people?" Emma asked as they stared at the crowd below who were talking amongst themselves.

"I had coordinated with Granny a while back and told her that one day I'd call on her to help rally friends together to celebrate Regina and Robin. That's all I said. Today was that day, so I called her right before I got dressed. Believe me I was just as surprised as you guys were to see who actually showed up."

"So… where are Robin and Regina going?" Killian asked, standing behind Emma.

"I don't know. Probably somewhere isolated for their honeymoon," Henry said simply. "It's probably better that I don't know." Henry turned facing his mother, "It looks like I'll be staying with you guys tonight."

"Well," said Emma as she looked at the crowd of people, "what are we going to do with everybody now that they're all here?"

Henry beamed as he exclaimed, "Granny's of course!"

… …

The entire gathering walked together as a group towards Granny's Diner for the after party. Since the gathering was supposed to be a surprise it wasn't expected of Robin or Regina to show up to their own after party. Despite the fact that the guests of honor were absent, all anybody in this town needed was a reason to celebrate and so they celebrated together. To Henry's pleasure, he enjoyed talking to everyone there about how much Regina had changed and how happy they were to see her and Robin so happy.

Killian stood by Emma looking nervous as he stared over at Henry who was laughing and talking to Roland, Hansel and Gretel. While Emma was distracted talking to her mother, Killian walked over to Henry.

"Henry…" called Killian timidly. The young crowd looked up at Killian expectantly. Henry looked up at Killian. "…might I have a word with you?"

"Sure. What's up?" shouted Henry over the loud multiple conversations that were happening around them. The boisterous cheers and bellows of everybody there made for poor intimate conversations.

"I was thinking privately… perhaps in a quieter space?"

Killian led the way, stepping outside the diner through the back-side entrance. Henry stepped forward from behind Killian and faced him. "So, Killian, what is it you want to talk about?"

"It was a nice ceremony, wasn't it?" Killian said, stalling.

"Yeah, it was."

Silence fell between the two. Henry knew that they weren't outside to talk about his mother's wedding. Killian hesitated, "Henry… what do you think about my relationship with your mother… Emma?"

"What do I _think_?" Henry looked shocked. "Honestly?"

Killian nodded.

"Ok, well… for reasons I can't really explain, I just don't trust you. Maybe it's this weird history that you have with my entire family, I don't know. Don't get me wrong, you've changed a lot these past few years, but some part of me… deep down, still sees a selfish pirate." Killian looked disheartened and defeated. Henry continued, "but I know Emma loves you… and somehow you make her happy. Why are you asking?"

Killian gulped then reached into his coat pocket, pulling out the engagement ring and showing it to Henry. Henry took out the ring from its box to inspect it more thoroughly before replying, "Woah! Wait a second… did you steal this?"

"No!" retorted Killian, who seemed affronted. "After working at the Cannery as a Fishing Captain for the past few years, I was finally able to save enough to purchase this. I was hoping I could get your blessing before asking for her hand in marriage."

"Aren't you supposed to ask the father? David?"

"He already knows and he's given his blessing. I seek yours because of that 'weird family history' we seem to have… but mostly because of your father. He was your mother's first love and I can't help but carry this guilt inside for him. Whether you believe this or not, I loved and respected your father." Killian paused for a moment to reflect as Henry scrutinized him. He continued, "I need your blessing, perhaps even your forgiveness, to make amends and to those loose ends I had with him."

Henry stared at the ring and pondered some more. He looked up at Killian and then said as he handed the ring back, "I don't know if I can forgive you on behalf of my father, but you have my blessing to marry my Mom. _However_ … if you ever break her heart, well, let's just say that I'll make whatever my grandfather threatened you with seem like child's play."

Killian stood there dumbfounded and shocked over Henry's blessing and threat. Then he cracked a smile guising his nervousness and chuckled, "Good thing I love your mother then because David's threat was exile."

Henry turned away from Killian and made his way back inside the diner. He opened the door and paused in its threshold. Before going completely inside he turned towards Killian giving him a sideways glance, "I was referring to my other grandfather."

* * *

 **A fluff chapter, I admit. But it served a couple of purposes: Seeing life move on, an update on Henry's magical education, and how Emma and Regina were going to handle the usage of Cogsworth in Storybrooke.**

 **As always, thank you Imusicluver23, Montreat11, ladybugsmomma, Grace5231973, and NatalieMosherRumbelle for reading and reviewing. See you next chapter!**


	10. Graduation Day

… _ **Four years ago…**_

Henry dressed in a black graduation gown tossed his graduation cap into the air. It was a sunny day outside the building of town hall where the ceremony was held. All the families met up with the graduates outside and congregated in front of the building. His high school class was small which made for a very short ceremony, which Henry was glad for. As Henry came forward towards his family he waved his diploma with glee.

"It's official! No more school!" he proclaimed jubilantly.

Mary-Margaret, David, Neal, Robin, Roland, Regina, Killian, and Emma moved in closer and gathered around him.

"Henry!" shouted Regina as she shook her head. She waved her hand and in a cloud of magical red smoke she retrieved Henry's graduation cap. "We still have pictures to take!"

She handed the cap back to her son and everyone took their turns congratulating him individually.

"Congrats, Henry!" said David as he patted his shoulder.

"Good form, mate," nodded Killian.

"I may have been your teacher, but I'm still your grandmother and could still teach you a lesson or two," said Mary-Margaret as she hugged him tightly.

"Kudos, kiddo," said Emma, giving her son a hug as well.

"I'm eighteen, Mom. I'm not a kid anymore," corrected Henry towards his mother.

"I know," understood Emma, "but you're still a kid to me."

"Congratulations Henry," said Robin as he shook Henry's hand.

"Thanks Robin," said Henry to Robin as he gave Roland a high-five. "And," he began to say as he faced the rest of his family, "Thank you everybody. Granny's?"

"Nope," insisted Regina shaking her head again. "Pictures first."

They took about a dozen photos in all various family combinations. After about fifteen minutes of gratuitous picture-taking and fake smiling, Henry was relieved when Regina said out-loud, "Alright. Granny's."

"Good!" sighed Henry gladly, "My cheeks were getting tired."

Regina rolled her eyes at her son as he bolted toward her car with Roland. They all met up at Granny's and to Henry's surprise, was greeted with a cake made personally by Granny herself. As she placed the cake on the counter before the family she claimed, "My finest cake yet! I think I outdid myself with this one."

Henry's eyes bulged as he stared at the double-layered cake with creative icing on top saying, 'Congratulations Henry!'.

"Wow Granny! It looks great!" complimented Henry.

Emma saw the cake from the opposite side and chuckled to herself. Seeing Emma's amusement, Regina turned to Emma and asked, "What is it?"

Emma turned the cake around on its axis and Regina saw written in icing on the other side, 'taking applications'.

… …

Henry took up Granny's offer and started working nights to bring in cash to help pay rent at Emma's apartment. The whole arrangement spurned an argument between Regina and Emma and what they disagreed upon was the idea of paying rent. Regina's argument was that he shouldn't have to, that it would ward him off from coming home. Emma argued that paying rent would teach him financial responsibility for the real world. Regina caved, realizing that they were in fact in that real world and that royal inheritance was a bit antiquated anyways. After talking to her parents about the matter, both David and Mary-Margaret couldn't blame Regina for feeling the way that she did because that was what was customary back in their land. However customary it was, they were no longer back in their land and so Emma won the dispute.

Personally, Henry felt it only right to pay Emma rent. If anything, he wanted to prove to himself as well as to his family that he could be financially responsible. During the heated argument between his mothers over the rent issue, he got up and left claiming that he needed air and walked off.

As he walked, he thought about his life's direction. Most kids his age were applying or have already applied to college. As much as he loved school, he just didn't feel like that was what was destined for him. Henry was so consumed in thought that he found himself meandering down a neighborhood close to Storybrooke's main street. When he finally stopped, he looked up and realized where his feet had subconsciously led him to. His grandfather's sealed Victorian house.

His curiosity got the best of him and he attempted to walk up the stairs. How coincidental it was, that his parents would argue about rent, when he already had property that he inherited. It was right in front of him. Would today be the day that he could live in the infamous house of his powerful grandfather? Henry moved forward, but after he reached the top step he was immediately repelled backwards onto the lawn.

"Not yet," said Henry to himself as he gasped for air. Henry's sudden fall to the ground knocked the wind out of him, "huh, grandpa?"

He gathered himself, dusting off the grass and dirt from his pants when he noticed the time on his wrist-watch. He was late for work. "Shoot!"

In a cloud of magical dust he disappeared from the neighborhood and reappeared by Granny's running into the diner from the back side. When he entered the establishment he magically changed his attire to his work uniform and went straight to the backroom to clock in. Without batting an eye or looking at Henry sneaking in, Granny called from the kitchen, "You're late again, Henry."

"I know, I know," Henry replied sheepishly as he slipped on his server's apron. "It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't. Tables four and five both are both waiting on their burgers," she said while handing the two plates off to Henry to deliver.

The evening progressed and it was time to transition the café from lunch to dinner. Henry busied himself wiping down the tables and replaced the paper placemats for white tablecloths. It was a slow night. Mostly take-outs. So it was of no surprise when he saw Emma enter the diner. Henry was sweeping the floor when Emma walked in and up to him.

"Hey kid. How's work?"

"Slow," Henry remarked as he swept around the bar stool his mother hovered over.

"How about some service, then?" she said cheekily.

Henry smiled and paused in his sweeping, "What would you like?"

"Two hot cocoas with cinnamon and ten minutes of your time."

"I don't know, that sounds like a fairly large order," Henry said sarcastically. He turned to Ruby who was eavesdropping on the conversation and replied with a nod, "Go on your ten. I'll cover you."

Henry quickly made their hot chocolates and brought them to his mother who was sitting and waiting by the bay window towards the front of the diner. From where he sat, he had a clear view of Main Street as well as the library.

"Have you and Regina stopped arguing yet?" Henry asked initiating the dialogue.

"For the time being… I think I won my case to the family."

"So, is everyone happy again?"

"Everyone," nodded Emma slowly, "except you."

"I'm happy."

"Are you?" Emma asked, giving Henry that probing stare. His response was too quick to be earnest. Henry tried to avoid her gaze. He could tell whenever she was using her super powers. It was obvious that Henry was beating around the bush and she wanted to get to the heart of the matter.

"I don't know what I want to do, Mom." Henry sighed as he stared down at his cup of cocoa. He began tracing the rim of the cup with his forefinger and continued, "I'm learning a lot by working at Granny's but… I feel like there's more to me than this."

"Well, what about college? The last time we talked about that you sort of grunted and nodded. I was never really sure what you thought about it."

He looked back up at his mother and said, "College… Granny's… they're just not for me."

"Ok. Then what will make Henry happy?"

"Seeing my family together and happy."

"Not all families are happy and none can be happy all the time."

"I know, I know. It's impossible. It's just… whenever I see you and Regina fight… it kind of breaks my heart. Maybe I should just get an apartment to myself."

"Oh," Emma said with surprise. The conversation had suddenly taken a turn she wasn't expecting. "You ready to move out already?"

"Well, I need to be fair to both you and Regina. The argument over paying rent… I see the value over both sides. Not that I'm truly leaving the nest… I just want to show that I can be responsible and self-reliant."

"Ok," nodded Emma, understanding Henry's reasoning.

Henry continued, "I also want to find my purpose. I want to know what my happy ending is."

"I would imagine that a happy ending is doing whatever it is that makes you happy."

"Mom, I have a secret. Well, more like a confession." Emma leaned in giving her undivided attention towards her son. "Magic makes me happy, but I feel like I need more direction with it. A task… project… something to focus on. I know that with magic I can help people find their happiness, but I also know that with magic it all comes at price."

"It sounds to me like you already know what you want to do," she remarked with a grin. She got up from the table and kissed Henry on the head. She pulled out her wallet and placed a ten dollar bill on the table. "I'll see you when you get home. We can talk about finding your own apartment later."

Henry smiled as Emma left the diner. Just as she closed the door he saw through the blinds of the bay window his grandfather's pawn shop. He felt ready. He couldn't explain or justify his intuition, but an urge compelled him to try and open his grandfather's shop again. Something about tonight felt different than the other nights. The events over the past few years; Gold and Belle moving to live happily ever after, his birthday, his mothers' happy marriages, his graduation, his magical readiness and thirst to know more, his purpose and now drive. Things felt like they were clicking and coming together for him.

The diner closed earlier than usual and since Henry had already completed the usual closing tasks he was able to leave early too. Without looking too anxious he waited for Ruby to lock the doors to the diner before faking his walk down to his mother's apartment. Seeing that the coast was clear he quickly turned around and headed straight for the Pawn Shop.

He stopped right in front of the shop's doors and reminisced the days he studied under his grandfather. Whenever Gold taught him a new trick or spell it was never easy and never as he expected. Each magical spell was a challenge to learn. What was the last thing his grandfather said to him before leaving? What enchantment would he have to break besides the blood magic? Henry paused as he tried to place himself in his grandfather's shoes. What was the lesson? What was different about tonight than the previous nights he attempted to do this?

" _You're over-thinking magic! Don't think it, feel it!"_

He could hear Gold's voice from his lessons echo inside his head. He was thinking way too much about it. He felt confident; confident in magic, his purpose and direction. He felt this incredible need to know more magic and to hell with the cost!

Henry waved his hands over the door and then over the entire building. With a golden shimmer, magic rippled before his eyes from the door's epicenter and in a giant wave the shimmer disappeared from around the shop. He heard a soft click from the door's lock as if it had just been released from a freezing spell. Henry smiled with awe and excitement as he reached for the doorknob. He placed his hand on the knob and instantly felt the metal burn and quickly cool beneath his skin. It was an incredibly odd sensation, but figured it was the blood magic simply identifying the rightful owner. Henry turned the knob with ease and opened the door.

… …

Ever since Henry discovered he could enter Gold's Pawn Shop, the whole town seemed to buzz with activity and interest. Unfortunately, that also meant that Henry was bombarded with people coming to reclaim their once taken items from Rumplestiltskin. Henry became so overwhelmed by the people flocking to the shop that he was forced to close it until he had reinforcement. It was then that Regina decided to call a town meeting.

At the town hall, Regina initiated the meeting while Emma monitored.

"Alright, everybody settle down," called out Regina to the audience from the podium's microphone as everybody in the room took their seats, "As we all know, Henry was able to access the Pawn Shop again. Let it be known that Henry is now the legal owner of the shop and is now the guardian of all the contents within."

"None of the stuff in there belongs to him!" called out one citizen.

"Yeah, we have every right to retrieve what's ours!" called out another.

"I understand that, however, it will be handled and run accordingly in an organized fashion by Henry. He has, as you see on the table down in front of me, created a schedule. That sign-up sheet will be time devoted to you, handling each of your situations one case at a time. You may sign up for your time when this meeting is adjourned." At Regina's response everyone groaned and settled further down into their seats to hear the rest of the meeting. "The other announcement that needed to be addressed is the issue in regards to Henry's pocket-watch, which has not been found yet. For the record, we still are searching for it. In the meantime, I am proud to announce Storybrooke's Transportation Charter. In the events that the pocket-watch is found and we are able to transport you to and from Storybrooke, there will be applications available to apply for a Realm Passport. Now, there will be a fee-"

As soon as Regina mentioned the cost, the audience broke into an immediate uproar. Outraged over the idea, people from within the crowd booed her, "A curse you casted!"

Another man stood up and shouted, "We shouldn't have to pay for something you did!"

"The fee isn't-, if you would just calm down and listen!" Regina tried to reason, unable to complete a full sentence.

Emma went through the crowd yelling at the multiple people who were standing up to sit down, but it was no use. A riot was beginning to form and it was on the precipice of total anarchy. Henry couldn't even hear himself think. Something had to be done and he couldn't sit idly by and watch his own mother be swallowed up by the town. Suddenly Henry stood up and casted a silencing charm among the townsfolk. The uproar went from stadium loud to deafening silent within seconds. People looked about themselves clutching at their throats wondering why they couldn't speak. Before anyone could look up to Regina to blame for their powerless voices Henry placed himself between her and the mob and called to the mutinous audience, "Please, calm down! If everyone could please have a seat I'll give you back your voices!"

Once the rioters saw Henry with his hands up in the air, they backed off from their threatening positions toward Regina and sat down in the seats again. As soon as he saw everyone in the room take their seats again he waved his hands and their voices were restored. Some coughing and soft murmurs were heard within the crowd, but soon enough it was quiet for Henry to justify his actions and plead his case.

"Look, I agree. You shouldn't have to pay for a curse that was bestowed upon you all, but Storybrooke is no longer cursed. I want to help find whatever it is that makes you happy, but just as you all deserve yours, I deserve one as well and it's right here in Storybrooke. Storybrooke is my home! It's all I've ever known, really. This is where my happiness is and if anyone ever took that away from me, well I'd be just as angry as you all are. For a good majority of us, we have lived here for so long that we've already established roots here. Some of our livelihoods are even anchored here. I'm sorry I haven't been able to find the pocket-watch, but I will make a deal-"

He caught himself sounding like his grandfather and immediately changed his rhetoric, "No, a promise. As soon as I find the pocket-watch, I will do everything in my power to find your happy endings. Every one of you. But you must ask yourself, where will you find your happiness? For some, it's here in Storybrooke. For others, it's back in the Enchanted Forest. The tax, from my understanding of it, is to offset the costs for any potential damages caused in Storybrooke as a result of bringing something back from another world. The taxes on the passports are for those who plan on traveling to and from Storybrooke. I'm even applying for one. For those of you who want to leave Storybrooke forever, there will be no cost to you because I will be the one who will personally deliver you home. However, once you leave you cannot come back without a passport."

People within the audience seemed to look at each other with satisfaction as they talked quietly amongst themselves. Henry tried to gauge the crowd's silent reaction to his offer. Seeing that there were no objections, he turned to his mother behind the podium and whispered, "Am I missing anything? Should I mention anything else?"

Surprised and impressed by Henry's initiative and leadership skills, she said with a pleased smile, "Nope. That about sums it up. Though, you should direct the community to come meet you down center stage to sign-up for appointments to see you at the shop."

Henry turned back to the crowd and announced, "Please come down to the table here and sign-up for your appointments with me at the shop. I would love to meet each and every one of you."

"On that note," Regina said into the microphone, "Meeting is adjourned."

* * *

 **Chapter 10 guys! Woohoo!**

 **I'm actually kind of proud of this chapter. I always knew Henry had a certain charm and way with people. I favor this chapter in particular because it showcases his maturity and leadership. I was initially going to cut the chapter off when he opened the Pawn Shop door, but I felt that the town meeting needed to be addressed immediately after.**

 **I know I've been slowly publishing chapters, but I'm still writing the story and haven't completed it yet. Again, thank you so much for your patience. I hope it pays off in the end. Thank you to Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma, Grace5231973, and Montreat11 for your endearing comments and reviews. You guys are seriously the best.**


	11. Blind Date

… _ **Three years ago…**_

It had only been a full year of the Pawn Shop being opened that Henry already found himself with his hands full. The shop no longer had the feeling of foreboding like it once had with Mr. Gold. With Henry running the shop and taking the helm the Pawn Shop's new line of work involved the business of fairly exchanging goods and products for magical services at reasonable prices. Realizing and loving his new career path Henry felt the need to be taken more seriously and decided to make it professional. By taking a page from his grandfather's book, Henry decided to dress up like his grandfather and went to work every day doing just that. Within a reasonable amount of time he was able to see to each appointment from the sign-up sheet and for the most part Storybrooke resumed its near tranquility.

Most people were curious about entering the shop while others just needed help deciding what it was that would make them happy thinking that Henry's magic was the cure. Each case was different and the circumstances involved as to how each item found itself inside the shop had an even more interesting tale of its own. One by one Henry would listen to the tales of his grandfather's dark deeds. Each story he heard was more interesting than the next on how his grandfather had acquired the item of question. Depending on the circumstance, it was Henry's job to decide whether or not to return the item or items of question back to the original owner.

However generous as Henry was, there were also times where even his generosity had its limits. As kind and understanding as he was, he knew as guardian that he had to remain vigilant to his grandfather's more dangerous and mysterious items. Due to those unusual circumstances and out of safety for himself and others not every item left the shop. There were even items from people who felt superstitious, thinking that by taking back their items it would somehow magically undo whatever deal Rumplestiltskin had originally made between them.

Henry did notice and appreciate Belle's contribution in organizing and categorizing every object in his grandfather's shop, but he knew that even with all the labels and information there it was just the curse's attempt at legitimizing Rumplestiltskin's possessions from their world. Seeing that everything was not as it appeared to be, Henry occasionally recruited Regina's help to identify those unknown items.

Rumplestiltskin knew the story of every object in the shop. However, Rumplestiltskin was also a secretive and methodical man which, unfortunately for Henry meant that nothing in the shop was authentically labeled. Due to the curse's magic, everything labeled in the shop was all an illusion. For example, Henry came across a tea set. On the index card of the tea set it said simply, _'China Tea Set: $45'._ When Henry asked Regina if she knew of its significance she simply smirked and said that it was his grandfather's prized set and that it held significant memories between Mr. Gold and Belle.

After all that effort of returning the chipped cup to him those many years ago, it was surprising for Regina to see the tea set still there. As significant as she knew the items were to him, she found it curious that Mr. Gold never brought the dishware with him when he moved. As she thought about it some more, she realized that leaving the set behind was Gold's serious attempt at starting a new life with his family and that perhaps his motives for leaving everything behind was so that he'd no longer be reminded of the hideous and cruel person he once was. It was understandable and Regina understood why. Gold was ridding himself of the person he didn't want to be for his daughter. When he moved, he legitimately wanted to forget this life of magic and to start over with his family. So in her mind, Regina dropped the matter and never thought upon the curious subject again.

Eventually Henry did find gaps of time to read his grandfather's magical books to take notes. If he wasn't categorizing the items entering and leaving the shop or dealing with a client, he was studying. Suddenly the door opened and a woman with brilliant red hair walked excitedly up to the counter.

"Hi! Is Belle around?"

Henry looked up from the book he was reading and stared curiously at the stranger. For a moment he didn't recognize her, but then it clicked. "Wait. Are you… Ariel?"

"Yes! That's my name," said Ariel, looking just as curiously back at the young man, "Have we met before?"

"Um, no," said Henry as he closed the book in front of him. "But… most people don't typically come into my shop with wet hair and… the seashells do kind of give you away."

"What's wrong with the seashells?" said Ariel as she quickly looked down at her revealing outfit. "These shells are in fashion where I come from."

"I would imagine so," said Henry smiling at her. Wanting to get off the subject of dress attire, he moved on with the conversation, "Belle is no longer living in Storybrooke. She moved away with her family. My name is Henry. I run this shop now."

"She moved? Oh!" said Ariel with a disappointed look on her face. But before she could be bothered or saddened by the news she immediately jumped straight to the reason why she was there. "Well perhaps you can help me identify some of these items," she said as she dug through the contents of her bag, unearthing random items onto the counter next to them. "You see, I travel to many realms and I come across many, many things along the way. The last time I was here, Belle was like my own personal tour guide in Storybrooke. She was super kind and very helpful with everything. She even took the time to help reunite me with my Eric! I'm actually out traversing different lands to surprise him with a gift, but the only problem is, I don't know what any of it is. I was so hoping she was here to help me out again."

"I can help you," offered Henry as he made his way around the counter to greet Ariel face to face. "What do you need help identifying?" asked Henry as they both looked at the menagerie of items she had strewn across the counter.

Ariel picked up the first item, "What's this hook thing? Is this what you use for hooks to catch fish?"

"It's a clothes hanger actually."

"Oh."

"You see," Henry said as he demonstrated, "You take off an article of clothing…" He took his suit jacket off and then hung it on the hanger, "and then you hang it over the hanger… like that."

"How about this one?" asked Ariel as she handed over the next object to Henry.

"This is a harmonica. It's a musical instrument. You blow into it like this," said Henry as he puffed out an unsettling note. Ariel immediately covered her ears over the repugnant sound and asked as she handed him a strap of some sort, "And this?"

"It's a belt. I've got one on right now. See?" said Henry as he lifted a portion of his suit's vest to reveal a similar looking belt.

"And how about this?" asked Ariel as she handed him a stone with a small stick protruding out of it.

"Well this… this is unusual," said Henry as he peered closer at the questionable object. Upon closer inspection he realized that the stick was actually a pen and that it had somehow fused itself with the rock. "Where did you find this?" asked Henry as he tried to pry the pen from the rock.

"I found it at the bottom of a lake here in Storybrooke. Did you know there's a whole bunch of interesting stuff down there?"

"Is there?"

"Did you even know that Storybrooke has a lake?" Ariel asked, but Henry ignored the question as he suddenly pulled the pen from the rock. "So what is it?" she asked.

"It's an antique dipping pen. Sadly, with the construction sites scattered around Storybrooke some cement probably dripped off from one of the trucks and fell onto some junk," Henry theorized.

"How did it get in the lake?" the mermaid wondered.

"I'm not sure…" pondered Henry.

Suddenly the door to the shop opened and Emma called out to the mermaid, "There you are!"

"Oh! Hi again," said Ariel nonchalantly toward Emma, "I told you I knew where I was. I don't need assistance anymore."

"Hi mom," said Henry.

"Mom?" said Ariel confused.

"Mom, what's going on?" Henry asked his mother.

"Ariel took a dip in the lake and when she emerged she scared some of the residents here. I was just getting some statements from the witnesses and when I went to question her she disappeared."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause a fuss," said Ariel as she quickly gathered the items that were on the counter and stuffed them back in her satchel.

"It's alright. Just… come see me at the Sheriff's station next time you decide to come back to Storybrooke. Or, at least for some more clothes to put on so you don't look so conspicuous."

"I will! Thank you!" said Ariel spiritedly to Emma as she made her way to exit the Pawn Shop. She stopped at the door and spun around on her feet, looking up at Henry, "And thank you for helping me identify my stuff."

"You're welcome. It was my pleasure," said Henry with a smile.

Seeing that she had overstayed her welcome, Ariel left the Pawn Shop. Once the mermaid left, Emma turned to her son and asked, "So, why did she come into the shop?"

"Ariel knew Belle had worked here a long time ago and was hoping to see her," he said. Realizing that he still had the pen in his hands he placed it inside his coat pocket. "She had some items in her purse that she wanted to potentially give Eric as a surprise gift, but didn't know what any of it was. So I helped her out."

"Oh," said Emma understanding the full story.

"Yep." For a moment they both stood there in awkward silence gawking at each other. Henry looked on at his mother expectantly as he stood there rocking back and forth on his heels. It was obvious to Henry that there was something else on his mother's mind that she was hesitant to say but was unsure how to say it. "Was there anything else?" Henry asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Emma blurted, "What are your plans after work? Say, around dinner time?"

Henry blinked curiously at the random question. It was odd for Henry to see his mother fidget and appear nervous over a question like that, which made him suspicious. He knew his mother was up to something, but since he didn't know what the hidden agenda was he decided to let the plan unfurl as he honestly replied, "I was going to get something at Granny's and then read some more—"

"That still counts as working, Henry. You need to go out! You need to socialize."

"I do socialize! I talk to every person that comes into the shop."

"No, I mean you need to let loose and hang out with friends. I mean, when was the last time you hung out with a friend that wasn't someone in your family?"

Henry was stumped. He honestly couldn't remember, hence the awkward silence that now fell on his end.

"My point exactly," continued Emma, "Go to Tony's Restaurant tonight at seven o'clock. Dress… well, you can just wear your work clothes there. You did always look dashing in a suit."

Emma backed away from Henry and turned to leave the shop. Before she completely left the shop he called out to his mother, "And who exactly am I suppose to meet at the restaurant?"

Emma grinned mischievously back as she replied, "Your blind date."

… …

Henry sat at a table by himself in Tony's Restaurant waiting on his intended blind date. He sat there nervously wondering who the possible person could be. Would the person be wonderful? Would the person be annoying? Ugly? Gorgeous?

He was on time. In fact, he was early. It was 6:48. His leg shook beneath the table as he thought through all the possible people he knew that was about the same age as him in town. Who was brave enough to date the Mayor and Sheriff's son? Henry found himself nervous even for his date. Why would Emma do this? Was it out of love? No. It was because of the undeniable truth that he was often times alone. Not that he minded being alone. He kind of enjoyed the solitude. However, the truth was he didn't have much of a social life outside of work, let alone a love life.

As far as he knew, he was friends with everybody in town, but none that he really hung out with. He had to admit, from a mother's perspective it did seem a bit disconcerting to not see her son socialize normally. As Henry thought upon the circumstances that led to his current situation, he realized that he never allowed any time for friends. At least until now, when his own mother interceded on his behalf.

He felt the pen within his coat pocket. Seeing that he had some time to kill before his date arrived, he withdrew it from the pocket and inspected it more clearly. There wasn't anything significant about it. Though, the way that it felt beneath his fingers seemed to warm at his touch, like it had been held in his hands for hours. But he figured that since he had been carrying around the pen inside his coat, the pen was only warm because of his body's heat.

As he tilted the pen back and forth in the light, he noticed the pen's silver tip which was glowing unusually. He inspected the pen's shaft closely and detected peculiar groves etched into the walnut handle, but they were far too small to see in the candle's light to make out what they were. To Henry, they all seemed like a series of dashes, lines and dots. He placed the pen in his hand and pretended to write on the cloth table when he noticed a dark ink drop emit from the tip.

Was he seeing things? Where was the ink coming from?

He picked the pen back up and looked at it more closely. Part of him wished that he was back at the shop to look at it more thoroughly with one of the magnifying lenses, when suddenly a young woman coughed next to him to grab his attention.

"That's a beautiful pen," said the mysterious woman.

Henry looked up and when his eyes refocused he recognized the beautiful woman immediately. To the woman with gorgeous dirty blonde hair wearing a flattering black pencil skirt and white top he replied, "Grace! I mean, Paige, or..er…" said Henry throwing the pen back inside his jacket pocket to stand up and greet his old schoolmate.

"Whichever is fine. I'm very open-minded," she replied with a smile.

"Are you my blind date?" Henry asked hesitantly.

"I am, actually," Paige said nervously.

"Allow me," Henry said as he made his way around the table to pull out her chair. As she sat down, Henry ransacked his brain to think of something to say. "So… how did Emma put you up to this?"

Paige let out a nervous chuckle and looked down bashfully. "I was the one who set this up, actually."

"You did?"

Paige nodded and said, "Well, uh, you see… I'm taking psychology courses online." She looked back up at Henry and with more confidence continued, "In lieu of my father being known as that horrible nick-name, 'The Mad Hatter', I felt it my obligation to discourage the name calling and help him out with his issues. Ever since the curse broke in Storybrooke, I've been living with both my adopted Storybrooke family as well as my father. Whenever I left to go back to my Storybrooke family, it left him so heartbroken. I can still remember hearing the tenants around my father's apartment whisper cruel words about him whenever I left. He would go through bouts of depression and anxiety, fearing that I would never come back to him. I had to ask Dr. Hopper for help and he recommended exposure therapy. After years of patience, diligence and therapy I was finally able to ease my father's fear and his radical behavior decreased. As a result my father's doing exceptionally well right now. I found the whole process and experience so helpful and rewarding that I decided that psychology was what I wanted to pursue after high school."

"Oh, I see… I'm just another psychology case for you."

"Oh no! I'm sorry, that came out all wrong! That's not what I was trying to imply at all," Paige exclaimed as she placed an embarrassed hand over her face. "I went to the Sheriff's station to ask Emma for statistics and data for one of my research papers for school and had inquired how you were doing. After the town hall meeting about the Transportation Charter and all, I hadn't seen you in a while and wondered if you were dating anybody. Your mom was really excited over the notion, and then one thing led to another… and here we are."

Henry nodded at Paige rehashing the story. When she was done telling her story he waited; waiting for the inevitable question that usually came about when meeting any citizen in Storybrooke. When the brief silence was beginning to turn awkward he asked, "So… you're not going to ask me about the watch?"

"No."

" _No?_ "

"I believe your announcement at the meeting to help everybody was sincere. I trust that when you find it, you'll do the right thing."

Henry smiled at her. His heart swelled with pride by her confidence and belief in him. "How you're going to do it," she continued as she shrugged her shoulders, "however will be quite the feat. That's some magic trick you're going to perform if you think you're going to try to find everybody's happy ending."

"I don't think I can. I _believe_ I can."

"Either way it's quite the endeavor. And you think belief will be enough?"

"I hope so and besides, it's all I've got."

"Perhaps, that's all you really need," Paige said as she placed a caring hand over Henry's on the table. Henry looked down at her hand, but before he could make up his mind on how he felt the server came by to take their order.

"Good evening, my name is Andrea and I'll be your server this evening. What shall we be having to drink tonight?"

"I'll take the sparkling cider," requested Paige.

"And you sir?" asked the waiter.

"I'll… uh," said Henry looking frantically down at the menu. Henry immediately regretted not having taken the time before Paige's arrival to gander at the menu.

"Why don't you have the same thing I'm having? The cider here is actually quite refreshing."

"There are apples in it."

"Are you allergic to apples?"

"No, it's uh… well, it's a sort of family superstition."

"Oh, yeah. Snow White. I'm sorry, I forgot."

"No, no. It's alright," Henry looked down at the menu and still couldn't decide on what it was that he wanted. The waiter stood there patiently waiting for him to decide. He looked over at Paige and realized that it was just a superstition after all and quickly changed his mind, "You know, I'll have a sparkling cider too."

"Very good, sir," said the waiter. "It'll be just a few moments on your drinks."

When the waiter left, Paige questioned, "What about your superstition?"

"Tonight's about doing something different. Embracing change. Confronting your fear. Exposure therapy. I'll be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about this whole blind date thing."

"Yeah?"

"I normally go to work, meet with different clients, eat something at Granny's, study something from my grandfather's library and then head home. I was nervous because… I was afraid for the person who braved the task of asking me out on a date."

"Why is that so scary?"

"Because of who my parents are… and who I'm related to for that matter."

"You mean, the Charmings, Emma, Regina, Mr. Gold…"

Henry nodded.

"I'm not afraid of your family," said Paige confidently.

"No?"

Paige shook her head. "Look at my father. People thought he was crazy. Who am I to judge a person based off of who they're related to? Besides, I'm not on a date with them. I'm on a date with you."

Henry smiled as he took advantage of the menu before him to decide on what to eat. Paige took a page from Henry and did the same with her own. Every so often, Henry caught himself casually looking up curiously from his menu to see Paige looking studiously down on hers and admiring the way she looked this evening. The waiter came back with their drinks and they both ordered from the menus.

"I'll take the Chicken Marsala," ordered Henry.

"And I'll have the Eggplant Parmesan," said Paige giving the waiter her order and relinquishing her menu. "I love the cuisine of this land."

"I wouldn't know what food from the Enchanted Forest would taste like to know the difference. Though, I do love Granny's burgers," replied Henry with a smile. Paige beamed back at him as she fidgeted with her wine glass filled with sparkling juice. Henry asked curiously, "So you wanted to go out on a date with me?"

Paige nodded sheepishly. "I always wanted to, but you were always so busy trying to find everybody's happiness that I wasn't sure how to even ask you. I was actually kind of afraid of being rejected."

"Rejected?"

"Well, surprisingly enough, I had this irrational fear that you would laugh at my face."

"I would never do that. Not to anybody."

"I know. That's why it was an irrational fear, but I confronted it."

"As did I when I actually showed up for this date."

Their food finally arrived and they continued their small talk throughout the meal. For the time being they forgot about their fears and their weird family ties to one another and they talked about the past. They exchanged funny stories and reminisced on memories they had while at school together. When their meals had been completely devoured, Henry asked for the check.

"I can help out with the bill," offered Paige. Henry waved his hand and shook his head, refusing her offer. "Please, this date was my idea," she said adamantly.

"No. I insist. Emma was right. I needed this. Tonight was wonderful. Thank you."

Paige couldn't take no for answer and negotiated, "Alright Mr. Pawnbroker. Here's the deal, you pay for dinner and I'll tip the waiter." It didn't really sound like a deal, more like what was inevitably going to happen. Henry rolled his eyes as he raised an eyebrow at her. "It's only fair," she said as she raised her own eyebrow at him.

"Alright, but only if I can get your number."

"Sure," she said gladly. "Where's that pen you were staring at earlier?"

"Oh," said Henry surprised. He withdrew the pen from his coat pocket and became hesitant to hand it over. He stared at it and then looked over at Paige. As he handled it in front of Paige, he shared his observations, "It's a strange pen. It has curious etchings all along the handle that I can't make out. I'm not even sure if it'll wor-"

But before Henry could finish his sentence, Paige snatched the pen from his hands. She took one of the available clean napkins at the base of her drink and attempted to write, but nothing was coming out. "Oh! It's a dipping pen. Of course it wouldn't work. I need ink."

She handed the pen back to Henry and as soon as he held it within his hands droplets of ink began dripping on the table. "Now that _is_ strange," observed Paige.

Curious, Henry took the same napkin Paige attempted to write on and was able to write his name and number effortlessly and without ink. He stared at his number intensely for a few moments, but suddenly realized that she was waiting on him. He looked up and apologized, "I'm sorry. Let me write your number down while this pen still works."

He wrote her number down and tore off the portions that they needed and handed his number over to her. Henry placed the pen and her number back in his suit jacket. In Henry's mind, the mysterious writing instrument definitely warranted more investigation. He slipped the curious pen into his pocket stylus-up to prevent any more mysterious ink to bleed onto his jacket and pulled out his wallet. They both left their money on the table as agreed upon and walked out of the restaurant together.

When they turned and faced each other, Paige was the first to speak, "Thank you for a lovely dinner, Henry."

"Thank you to you as well," he replied with a small smile.

Before Henry knew what was happening, Paige smoothly came closer and kissed him gently on his cheek. "Don't be a stranger to the world outside your Pawnshop. Give me a call sometime."

Henry's small smile immediately turned into a blushing grin.

"I will," promised Henry as she got into her car. As Henry watched her drive away from the restaurant, he delicately touched the spot on his cheek where her kiss still lingered.

* * *

 **Sorry about the long week between postings. Last week was a long busy week for me and I just struggled writing. But! I wanted to thank you guys who reviewed the last chapter. You guys are my heroes. As always, thank you Imusicluver23, NatalieMosherRumbelle, Montreat11, Grace5231973 and ladybugsmomma for reviewing. You all are just simply the best.**


	12. Trinkets and Other Curious Things

… _ **One year ago…**_

"Mom, what's wrong? You haven't said anything since you got here," said Henry to Regina in the back work room area of the Pawnshop. From the ladder he was perched from, he could see from over his mother's shoulder a black and white candle being held in her hands.

"Nothing, it's just," she said as she placed the item back on the shelf in front of her, "going through your grandfather's things always stirs up cruel memories. I should get going anyways. Call me if you need anything." She didn't want Henry to see the hurt on her face as she made her way to leave the shop.

"Aren't you coming to Neal's birthday party?" Henry asked as he lifted a box up off from on top of a filing cabinet. The question stopped Regina from exiting the shop. Without looking up at him she answered somberly, "I can't unfortunately. I'm… going to head to our family tomb."

"Why?" he asked curiously as he descended the ladder, setting the box down that was in his hands on the nearest work table. She turned around and faced her son bravely as she replied slowly, "I'm not expecting you to understand but seven years ago today… my mother died."

"Cora… oh," said Henry sadly, "I'm… I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. This time each year Neal's birthday always overshadows my mother's death, and understandably so. My mother, Cora, wasn't exactly a good person when she was alive. But… she loved me and I loved her. She was killed by Mary-Margaret using that candle," she said pointing to the black and white candle she had placed on the shelf, "under the suggestion of Mr. Gold. So as you can see, it doesn't exactly make for a great conversation starter at a party meant to celebrate their son."

"I suppose that would explain why you've never come to any of Neal's birthday parties." Henry thought for a moment as they paused to reflect on the incident from their past. He asked, "You said that she wasn't exactly a good person. What did you mean by that? What was good about her?"

Regina replied, "My mother was very ambitious, fiercely intelligent and extremely powerful. I would even go far as to say that she gave Mr. Gold a run for his money, and that's saying a lot because your grandfather was rarely impressed by anyone. But my mother… she had her faults and her complete lust for power warped her ambitions. I suppose that it didn't help that for the majority of her life she had lived without a heart. She was unable to feel anything, not even love. And love, as we all know, is the most powerful magic out there. It was why she never understood it. So she was never satiated and in the end it got her killed."

"Do you think, if given enough time, that she could have been turned towards good?"

Regina scoffed, " _My mother?_ _Turned towards good?_ My mother was the most stubborn person I've ever met and also the most heartless. She abandoned her first child, your Aunt Zelena. She killed my Daniel..." Regina sighed. She didn't want to reflect sadness or anger about her mother to her son. Regina wanted to reflect upon herself, the person she once was; looking back at her mother as the person she could have been, and appreciate the good changes that made her a better and happier person. Realizing her derailment of thoughts, she shook her head and answered Henry's question. "I would like to think that if my mother had her heart she could have been rehabilitated, but she's gone now so we'll never know."

"If I had all that power… I'd want to direct it towards good. I really did mean what I said at the Town Hall meeting that day. I'd fight for everybody's happy endings."

Regina got close to Henry and sweetly caressed his face. "I know you would, honey. You're intentions are sweet as they are noble. But Henry, us villains..."

"You're not a villain, Mom," claimed Henry, cutting off his mother's negative insinuation about herself.

"But I once was," corrected Regina, "and the thing about us villains, like my mother, is that we all think that what we're doing is the right thing. You see, evil isn't born, it's created. In no way am I trying to justify what I did in my past, but I was hurt. And that hurt, if left unchecked, can turn into something monstrous changing you and your perspective on the world from the inside out. Often times than not we feed our own inner demons the wrong medicine, thinking that vengeance is the cure. It isn't. The trick is recognizing the monster within before it swallows all that is good and you forget who you are.

We all handle pain differently and the choices we make to handle that pain are not always right. But we're human. We make mistakes. So, Henry, you must be careful. Not every choice we make is so black or white, or good versus evil. One of these days, I won't be around to help you when you make a mistake. So with the power you have now, be grateful for it. You need to make sure that every decision you make is with a good heart, a good conscience and for the right reasons. Once you make a decision, you can't go back. That power, that _magic_ , came at a terrible price for my mother and if we intend on continuing to use magic then we must be prepared to pay for it."

"I understand," nodded Henry as he came forward and hugged his mother. "I just want to see you happy."

"I am happy, Henry. It's just," Regina said as she pulled away from her son. She pulled back a loose strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear, "this time every year I leave to mourn and reflect."

"Can I be with you when you go?"

Surprised by his statement she asked skeptically, "Wouldn't you rather be celebrating Neal's birthday?"

"I'll go to both," Henry said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "I won't stay long at the birthday party and then I'll head straight to the vault."

She never expected anyone to understand her conflicted feelings towards her mother, let alone want to come with her to visit her mother's grave. Regina was both touched and surprised by Henry's consideration and looked as if she was about to cry. "Are you sure? If you don't want to come, I won't be offended. I'll completely understand."

"No, I want to be with you."

Regina smiled as she came forward to her son and kissed his head. "I'll see you at the vault, then," she said as she turned to leave the shop.

Neal's birthday party wasn't for another few hours so he resumed his cleaning spree, dusting the blinds above the filing cabinets. Once he finished dusting the backroom he worked his way to the front of the shop and started with the picture frames that hung on the back wall. He brought the ladder and his duster over to the wall and began dusting the highest frames first. As he dusted he noticed one of the picture frames below the top one he was currently dusting. The way it hung off of the wall was unlike the other frames. The other frames swung on the wall as he dusted them, the mysterious frame did not. In fact, it seemed as though it was glued to the wall. He reached down to pull on the frame and it swung forward, opening in front of him. A hidden safe was revealed to him.

"Woah," remarked Henry. His hand hovered over the combination dial and an invisible force spun the knob. He heard a small click within the safe release and he placed his hand on the handle. Just like when he first opened the Pawnshop, the safe's handle burned and cooled simultaneously in his hand. Mr. Gold had used blood magic to protect the safe as well. "Grandpa, what are you hiding in here that you wanted only me to find?"

He turned the handle and opened the safe. Inside he saw various tonics he assumed were dangerous and suspected would need careful revision later. He flipped through papers, deeds, contracts, and other important documents that would also need deciphering and interpreting later, but then he saw metal hide beneath the papers. Cogsworth! It was here the entire time!

Henry pulled out the watch from the safe and along with it folded documents that were rubber band to it. He immediately unfolded the parchment and on it briefly said in his grandfather's handwriting,

" _Search for Arthur in Enchanted Forest. Use Sorcerer's hat. Get happy ending."_

… …

Henry tapped the enchanted pocket-watch inside his coat, reassuring himself of its existence as he stepped into his grandparents apartment complex. He couldn't believe that he had found the well sought-after watch, and that disbelief had him patting the item through his coat like a nervous tick. He felt conflicted by the item. He wanted to tell his family. He knew he had to because of the promise he made to tell them. But as he thought about it, _did he promise to tell them about the watch?_ He thought back on what it was that he had actually promised at the town meeting. He promised to use Cogsworth to help everyone get their happy endings. Henry thought about the promise he made to Regina and remembered that he only promised to tell her the moment he was able to gain access to the shop, which he did. There were no promises made to let people know when he found the watch, but the insinuation was implied. What harm was there in delaying his discovery?

Henry debated with himself. Tell them. Don't tell them.

He knew he should tell his family, but for reasons he couldn't articulate he just couldn't. He knew that it was the right thing to do, but the message his grandfather left behind for him gave him pause. Wouldn't this search for Arthur and using the Sorcerer's hat be the way he'd bring about the happy endings for everybody and thus fulfilling his promise to the people of Storybrooke? Does it matter how he brings the happy endings so long as everyone's happy? And what about _his_ happiness? As much as he stared into the 'Once Upon A Time' book given by his grandmother, he just didn't feel like it existed for him. Happy endings are only for fairy tales and he wasn't a fairy tale. But perhaps this Sorcerer's hat could provide his happy ending. Henry needed to do more research; research that would undoubtedly drive the whole town into a frenzy if he were to tell everyone that he had discovered the watch. He needed time to investigate his grandfather's intentions and find the hat without disrupting Storybrooke's serenity. Henry felt impatient and just couldn't wait for politics to win out in his favor. So for the time being he justified his omission about the watch so that he could expedite his mission to find everyone's happy ending like he promised. But before he could run to his shop he needed to fulfill his current obligations, like attending a party.

The birthday party was hosted at his grandparents' studio apartment. All of his family were present when he arrived through the door. To his right, Emma and Killian stood over by the punch bowl talking to Aurora and Phillip. In front of him by the kitchen's island sink hovered Mary-Margaret, David, Ashley and her husband Sean, who appeared knee-deep in a conversation of their own. To his left over on his grandparents bed sat three little children playing with medieval action figures.

As soon as Henry entered the room, Neal's face lit up with excitement and shouted, "It's Henry! Mom! Dad! Nephew Henry's here!"

"Happy Birthday Uncle," replied Henry with a smile as he hid something from behind his back.

"What are you hiding, Nephew? Is it something magical from your shop?" asked the little boy as he collided with his much taller nephew for a hug. As soon as Neal mentioned, 'magic', the room became quiet. They all waited to see what Henry had brought.

"Sort of," said Henry as he revealed a thin rectangular box.

"Ooo! Is it an ipad?" guessed Neal as Henry handed the box to him. As soon as Neal held the box in his hands he began shaking it, trying to determine if he guessed correctly by the weight and the sound of things shifting in the box.

"No. Now quit guessing and open it already." Neal ripped open the present and discovered comic books. Neal looked up with slight disappointment, hoping to get something magical. Henry explained, "They're my old comic books."

"Oh thank goodness," sighed David in relief.

"I always thought that they were magical because they allowed me to escape to other worlds in my mind. Comics are great if you're learning how to read and the graphics really bring the stories to life. Just take a look here," said Henry as he pointed at one of the characters, "all these characters are heroes with powers too. This one is Wolverine and he can heal himself. This one is Hulk. He's super strong and can only get that way if he gets really mad. These are vintage and collectable comics so if you keep them in great condition you could sell them at over twice the value."

"Henry, I don't know if Neal can read those yet," Emma said looking back and forth at both her parents, noticing their expressions over the present exchange.

Henry turned to his mother and replied, "Why not? I started reading comics when I was his age. Besides, when he does start reading them he'll see that heroes exist in other worlds too."

"Say 'thank you', Neal," told Mary-Margaret to her son.

"Thank you," said Neal with a grateful smile as he quickly and curiously flipped through the first couple of pages staring at the pictures.

"You're welcome," said Henry as he rubbed the top of Neal's head. The other adults in the room resumed their cheery banter as Henry felt the pocket-watch sink heavy within his overcoat. Henry was anxious to get to his shop and was about to greet the rest of the family so he could take off when he heard Neal call to Henry in a subdued voice, " _Psst_ … Henry…"

Henry stopped and turned to face his uncle, "Yeah Neal?"

Neal fidgeted with the comic books in his hand as he nervously and hesitantly stepped forward. "I… I, uh… can do stuff… with my hands."

"Yeah, and?" said Henry as he looked at Neal incredulously.

"No… I mean," said Neal as he lowered his voice, trying to be discreet. "Well, watch…"

Neal opened up one of the comic books that was still in his hands and flipped to a random page. He placed his small finger on one of the characters on the page and it sprung to life. On the page, the hero flexed and swung at the enemy. Then the hero retracted and remained frozen once again on the page.

"Neal!"

"Shhh!" hushed Neal to Henry.

"Neal, you have magic?" said Henry in a quieter voice as he looked around the room. At Neal's shushing, nobody seemed to notice them, which meant that Neal didn't want anybody to know. "Does anybody else know?"

Neal shook his head slowly. He bowed his head as if in shame and said, "Please don't tell anyone."

"Why? This is awesome news! You should embrace your abilities."

"I don't want this. I want to be normal."

"Kid, you're part of this family. Nothing about us is normal. I think you should tell every-" Henry stopped himself short. He felt like a hypocrite. He should tell everyone about his discovery of the pocket-watch today, but even he had his reasons for not letting people know. Henry justified that if he had his reasons, then so did Neal. "Look, we can't keep this a secret forever."

"I know. I just don't want everybody to know just yet."

"And just so you know, there's nothing wrong with being magical. It's how you use it that makes all the difference. So how about this, let me see if I can find a way to keep your powers at bay. If I can't find anything, we'll train together."

"Train?"

"Yeah, you're magical now. We need to train you so that you know how to control your magic. Then we'll tell everyone. Deal?" suggested Henry as he extended his hand.

Neal shook Henry's hand. "Yeah!"

"Ok. We'll talk about when and where to meet for these sessions later, but for now, just enjoy the party. Ok? I'll talk to you later, Uncle."

Neal beamed at his nephew and said, "Later Henry."

Neal returned to his friends over by the action figures and resumed playing while Henry got up to meet his mother and grandparents. "That was such a sweet gift," said Mary-Margaret to Henry.

"Yeah, I still can't believe you gave him your comics. You use to treasure those things," remarked Emma.

"I _use_ to, but now that I'm working with actual magic I think I've finally outgrown them," replied Henry.

Henry's eagerness to leave was showing and Emma caught on. Noticing that Henry wasn't settling in to stay longer, she asked her son, "Are you going somewhere? Take off your jacket and stay for a while."

"I do actually have some place else to be. I'm sorry I'm unable to stay longer," said Henry.

"Let me guess, Paige?" Emma said with a smirk.

"Oh yes, Henry!" said Mary-Margaret with excitement over the new gossip. "You guys have been dating for quite some time now, haven't you? How is that going, by the way? How is she?"

"It's… been going. It's only been a couple of years, but I think Jefferson has finally warmed up to me dating his daughter so that's an improvement."

"Well, she's more than welcome to come over anytime," invited Mary-Margaret with a smile.

"Why isn't she here? Didn't you invite her to the party?" asked Killian.

"It's my fault," Henry admitted shaking his head shamefully. "I've had a lot on my mind lately, and never got around to inviting her. Running the shop and meeting with clients, there's never a dull moment at the shop. If it wasn't for Paige kidnapping me every so often, I don't think I would ever leave. I'm beginning to see why grandpa kept a cot in the back… but uh," Henry said as he combed his fingers through his hair, "I'm actually going to go visit Regina next."

"Why? What's wrong?" David inquired, his thoughts immediately jumping to something serious.

"Nothing's wrong, just some…," Henry searched for the words to honestly and adequately describe what his intentions were with Regina trying to avoid the subject of Cora altogether. He knew they wouldn't understand his reasons for visiting Cora with Regina. Regina was right. To bring Cora up into conversation on this happy occasion would only cause more drama. He didn't want to ruin Neal's birthday, so he finished his sentence and said, " _family bonding_."

"Oh, ok," said Mary-Margaret slightly disappointed, doing her best to be understanding. Henry came forward and hugged her first.

"Thank you for the gift," thanked David.

"It's my pleasure," said Henry as he hugged his grandfather.

"I'll save you a piece of the birthday cake for later," said Emma as she quickly kissed the top of his head.

"Make sure to get the one with the most icing," said Henry as he backed away from his family to leave the apartment.

Emma chuckled with a smile, "I will."

… …

Henry entered the catacombs of his family's vault and called out into the dark dank tomb, "Mom?"

His voice ricocheted off the walls as he waited patiently. Even as an adult entering his own family's vault, he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive entering the ominous tomb alone.

"I'm down here in the west wing, Henry," called out a friendly voice from down below.

Henry descended the stairwell and into the west wing of the vault. When he arrived he saw his mother staring longingly over her mother's grave.

"Where's Robin?" asked Henry as he stood next to his mother.

"He went to deliver Roland to his mother and hang out with his men in the woods."

Henry nodded in acknowledgement and stared at the stone coffin with his mother in revered silence. After a few moments he asked, "So what are you reflecting upon?"

"Me. You. Robin. The Curse. Storybrooke. Don't get me wrong, I don't have any regrets about what I've done, but… I do wonder about the future. Storybrooke was supposed to be my happy ending… and it is. I guess I just didn't expect it to be other peoples' happy ending too." She inhaled and exhaled slowly as she stared at her mother's coffin. "You know what the curse taught me?"

"No," said Henry shaking his head, "What?"

"It taught me that happiness is not always what you expected it to be, that although you can create it you can't force it to happen. It just happens on its' own."

"What if there was a magical object that…" Henry was about to talk about the hat, but then quickly reneged on the idea. He didn't want to bring everybody's hopes up if the hat didn't pan out. "…nevermind."

" 'A magical object that' what?" reiterated Regina kindly, genuinely wanting to know what Henry was curious about.

"I… wonder if there's a magical object that could capture a person's happiness. Maybe retain it. That way if you're ever down, you could reference it and be boosted again."

"Actually, an object that you're describing does exist."

"It does?" said Henry surprised. Regina left the crypt and Henry followed after her. After walking a short distance, she led him to her potions and magical storage room. Henry looked on curiously as she opened a cabinet, pulling out a silver necklace with a giant emerald stone dangling at the end of it. Henry immediately recognized the object and exclaimed, "Woah! Isn't that-"

"Zelena's? Yes it is."

"Isn't it dangerous?"

"It's not. This enchanted object is actually just a receptacle of one's gifts. Happiness is a gift and to capture it, one would only need to focus their positive memories into the object. For Zelena, it harbored all her magic. Now, if you can remember back to your lessons with Mr. Gold, magic is based off of emotional energy. If one were to pour that energy or power into this object it not only acts as a reservoir, but also an amplifier. Kind of like, whenever you look at picture and it reminds you of someone or something and your mind instantly becomes flooded with good or bad memories. This necklace acts like that."

"So what happens if the wearer takes off the necklace?"

"The wearer becomes weakened from that emotion of course. The energy becomes disconnected from the source."

"Do the symptoms last forever?"

"I wouldn't imagine so, but long enough to keep the wearer incapacitated for a while. It's like coming down from an emotional high. Eventually you do come down from it because you can't be happy or sad all the time. I would imagine the longer the exposure the longer the withdrawal, which is why Zelena was powerless when I took it from her. She must have worn the pendant for a really long time. So, I suppose it really depends on the host."

"Can I see it?" asked Henry as he thought about the different ways this object could help Neal.

"You can borrow it," she said as she handed it over to Henry. Henry accepted the charmed necklace and marveled at it with disbelief as he replied, "Really?"

"I know how important your quest is to find everybody's happy ending. I'm just glad this relic is finally being put to good use."

* * *

 **To those of you reading this chapter… Hooray! The internet to my computer is working!**

 **Just two more flashback chapters and then we'll fast forward to the present. As always, thank you for your patience between postings. And thank you to NatalieMosherRumbelle, Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, ladybugsmomma, CrypticCobra, BreathingintheSun and Montreat11 for reading and reviewing. A lot of you really liked my insertion and take on Paige(Grace) from the previous chapter. She's in one more chapter of mine and I'm currently trying to think of how to incorporate her later in the story. But… if you don't see another appearance it's because Rumbelle and Henry are the main focuses to the story. Thank you for your understanding and I look forward to seeing you all next chapter!**


	13. A Fight, A Trip and A Rude Encounter

… _ **Three days ago…**_

Paige walked into her apartment and found a trail of rose petals leading to a note on the kitchen counter. On the note read, _"Meet me at the restaurant where we had our first date."_

With a gleeful smile, she left the apartment and drove out to Tony's. She parked her car and headed towards the restaurant only to be greeted by the restaurant manager himself, Tony.

"Miss Paige! Henry is waiting for you in our private dining area," he said as he escorted her towards the back of the restaurant. They turned a corner and went through the kitchen to the backdoor of the restaurant. When Tony opened the door, she was welcomed by a quaint little nook. The back patio was surrounded and secluded by stone walls which had overgrown ivy dripping over the sides. She was mesmerized by the soothing sounds of cascading water, which were dripping over the multi-level lips of the fountain. Her eyes gazed at the fountain which was placed strategically by the only table where Henry sat. At the sight of Paige, Henry stood up next to the candlelit dinner he had waiting for her.

"What's all this?" she said as she blinked with surprise at the setup.

"It's our anniversary," Henry said as he extended his hand to greet her.

"Is it?" she asked with astonishment as she placed her hand in his.

"Come, have a seat before dinner gets cold," said Henry as he guided her to her seat. Paige sat down across from Henry as he lifted the covered meals; Pot roast, baked potato and fresh seasoned vegetables. As she inhaled the fragrant aromas she became swept away by Henry's romantic gesture.

"I still can't believe you did all this. It's all so romantic," Paige replied with amazement.

"Well we _have_ been dating for quite some time and… you know I wouldn't do this for anyone unless they were _really_ special," said Henry proudly as he sat down across from her. They both ate and talked about their day as they casted loving smiles at each other. When they both had their full of the delicious dinner Paige sighed while wiping a napkin across her face, "Wow! I never realized how famished I was. This was delicious Henry. Thank you."

"Well, I wanted to ask you something and I wanted to ask you in the right setting. Now I know we've only been living together for about a year and half, but in its entirety we've been together for three years." Paige waited for his question with bated breath. Could this be the day? Did she dress properly for this? She looked quickly down at her outfit and realized it didn't matter. Her life would be changing forever. Henry continued, "I've talked this over with both of our families and… I think it's time to take our relationship to the next level…"

" _Yes?_..." she said with a loving gasp. She couldn't wait. The moment was overwhelming. This was it. Henry reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out… not a ring.

He pulled out a rolled up parchment and opened it up in front of her, "Would you like to get an apartment together? It's the lease to the apartment to renew! This time your name will be on it too and then we'll be official!" Disappointment had fallen upon her face. Upon seeing her disappointment, his face fell too. "What is it? What's wrong? I thought you would be happy."

"Henry!" she cried out in disappointment. "I thought you were going to propose to me!"

Tears formed in her eyes as she realized how sorely mistaken she was. Henry's jaw fell agape as he stared at the floor trying to think of where he went wrong.

"But… I told you," Henry said as he looked into her tear-soaked eyes. "I wasn't ready for that kind of commitment yet. I've got too much on my plate right now. I'm trying to find everybody's happy endi-"

" _I'm busy_ , _I'm running the shop_ , _I'm meeting another client today_ ," mocked Paige angrily. "You're so busy finding everyone else's happy ending that you've forgotten about the happiness that's right in front of your face!"

"But I _am_ busy! You know how important my work is," claimed Henry trying to reason with her.

"Yes! You are busy! And yes, you're work is important, but what about us?! What about our happy ending? Did you ever stop to think about that?!" exclaimed Paige as she got up from the table and made her way towards the patio's exit.

Stunned that the evening didn't go as planned, he called to her, "Where are you going?"

"I'm getting my belongings from the apartment and staying with my father for a while. Call me when you decide to stop chasing after everyone else's dreams and are ready to focus on us."

Paige left through the patio courtyard's gate and departed from the restaurant in her car, leaving Henry alone and confused. He tossed his napkin down on the table and stewed angrily at how unsuccessful the evening went.

… …

After paying the bill at the restaurant he left. Frustrated and fuming, he headed straight to the shop. He unlocked the door and entered. He flicked his wrist and the lights turned on instantly. He tossed his keys onto the display case counter in front of him and leaned against it.

"I've come too damn far to fall short!" he shouted rhetorically to himself in the empty room. "My work _is_ important! I don't need her! Good! Another distraction gone!" he yelled, hoping that the statements would somehow sound better than they did in his head. But they didn't and he didn't mean any of them. He really did love her, but his work started way before he had even met her and it was everything to him. It was his purpose. But _marriage?_ It was the last thing on his mind.

They had speculated their future together before on a couple of occasions, but in his mind he had thought he made it quite clear that marriage was something he simply wasn't ready for. But what was he not ready for? He wondered. He tried to think of all the reasons for his deficiency but came up insufficient.

Had he really been all that blind to have missed the signs? Were they really ready to commit the rest of their lives to each other? Did he love her? Would he fight for her happiness? Was she in love with him? Did she care about him as much as he cared for her? As he asked himself those very questions he realized that the answers to all of them were the same. Yes. He thought about all the wonderful moments they shared together over the past three years. The random picnics they shared together outside the shop. The long walks into the woods just talking about life. The nights they stayed in and watched rented movies as they ate popcorn. The rare but occasional family interactions they had with each others' family. His fight with Jefferson to prove his worth for Grace. He might have felt worthy of her then, but he certainly didn't feel worthy of her now.

"She's right," he admitted shamefully in a more subdued voice. She deserved more. She deserved better. Realizing his own foolishness he suddenly cursed, "Dammit!"

Out of anger he slammed his balled up fist through one of the display cases beside him and glass shattered all around him. Upon seeing the broken glass pieces, he realized the extent of his frustration and stopped to breathe. He cooled down for a bit and stared at the items in the broken case. The emerald necklace his mother lent him shimmered in the dull light. He pulled it out of the rubble and stared at it. With an available hand he waved over the broken display case and it magically reassembled itself. By the time the case was assembled it looked as if nothing ever happened. The necklace remained in his hand as he leaned upon the newly formed counter to inspect the item closer.

He knew when he borrowed Zelena's necklace from his mother's vault that it was intended for Neal. Even after he had experimented with it and had deemed it safe, he still felt wrong about using it on his uncle. His beliefs interfered with what his uncle really wanted. To be normal. Henry didn't understand the embarrassment of magic. If anything that confused him too. Henry never showed or used the necklace on Neal and had for the past year, been secretly teaching him lessons instead. Another distraction. Paige was a distraction. Everything and everyone was a distraction.

When was the last time he did any further research on his grandfather's mission? The truth was, the research had been slow-moving due to family and work obligations all of which were clawing for his attention. He had no time to look into the mystery mission. Henry gave out a huff and decided determinedly that he was going to take that time now. After putting the necklace back into the display case he walked quickly into the back private office. He pulled out the book, _Wielders of Magic_ from the shelf of Mr. Gold's magical library and resumed where he left off in his reading.

He flipped open the book to the page where he left off and removed the bookmark. In the book and in alphabetical order revealed all the sorcerers and witches from the Enchanted Forest. Some of their biographies were short and unfinished, while others were unnecessarily long-winded. Alphabetically, Henry left off on the letter 'M' and it was where he resumed.

 _ **Merkis the Miser**_ _: Collector of all things random and lost objects. Resides in the caves of Purple Lion Mountains during the spring to hibernate and ventures out only in winter. It is only during the winter season that the Miser leaves to search for items abandoned to the country's harsh winters._

 _ **Merlinus Clas Myrddin**_ _: Also known as Merlin…_

Henry stopped and reread the passage again.

 _ **Merlinus Clas Myrddin**_ _: Also known as Merlin, Merlyn, Myrddin Wyllt, Merlinus Caledonensis, Merlin Ambrosius Aurelianus. Origins remain unknown. Power is believed to derive from his enchanted cap. Has prophetic knowledge of the future and the ability to travel to different times as well as different realms. Guardian to the Holy Grail and is the sole advisor to Arthur because of their intertwined destinies to each other. Loved a woman named Nimue, but was tricked by a sorceress named Cora for not revealing the secrets to his power and was trapped in the cold mountains of the Enchanted Forest where he currently resides. To this day, the whereabouts of the Holy Grail are unknown and will remain a secret until Merlin is woken from his cursed slumber._

Merlin… Arthur… Why didn't he think to make the connection before? The sorcerer's hat. The sorcerer's hat belonged to Merlin.

Throughout the past year, Henry had secretly ventured into the Enchanted Forest. During his mission to complete his grandfather's quest he had called to his watch to take him to Arthur, but had no success. On another occasion he had even ventured to the infamous Camelot, but was surprised to have discovered only a desolate and abandoned city that had fallen to curses, battle and time. It was only during the past few months that Henry finally braved the visit to his grandfather's Dark Castle. He knew that if some of the items in his Pawn Shop were dangerous, then he needed to enter the castle with extreme caution. He did his best to spend as much time as he could to comb the castle thoroughly, but his time of course was limited. With obligations and family beckoning for his attention at home, he was unable to complete the careful examination of his grandfather's castle.

Henry was given very little information about the quest, only what was left behind in the note attached to the watch. While searching through his grandfather's castle, he tried to find a clue or any information in regards to Arthur or The Sorcerer, but Rumplestiltskin was not a fool. Rumplestiltskin would never carelessly leave obvious clues to follow so it made Henry's quest both tedious and dangerous. However challenging Henry's search was, this time was different and the only difference between then and now was that now he knew who the sorcerer was and it made his search for the hat much easier.

This was the moment Henry was waiting for. It was now or never. Henry took out Cogsworth from the inside of his breast pocket and stared at it. He reminisced how it first came into his possession.

He was a novice at magic and wanted an object to test a traveling spell he learned from a book. He searched for that object in the Pawn Shop and saw the watch Mr. Gold was fixing in his hands. Mr. Gold never took cash from Henry, but instead had him work at the Pawn Shop to pay off the bill for the watch. Then Rumplestiltskin found out about his magic. Since at the time Henry didn't want either of his mothers to know about his abilities another deal was struck. So Gold taught Henry magic in exchange for his silence about Henry's magic. His whole reason for casting the Traveling spell onto the watch was so that he could visit the place where resurrecting the dead was possible. He thought that by bringing his father, Neal, back from the dead that he would be happy, but in the end it didn't make his father happy. Was this watch an omen? Or another opportunity for happiness?

No matter how he looked at the watch, Henry could hear Regina's voice in his head, "… _with the power you have now, you need to make sure that every decision you make is with a good heart, a good conscience and for the right reasons. Because once you make a decision, you can't go back._ "

His heart and conscience were good and his reasons were unselfish ones. He sincerely wanted to find everyone's happy ending. Henry made his decision and called to the watch, "Cogsworth, take me to Merlin in the Enchanted Forest."

In a showering orange glow, Henry disappeared from the Pawn Shop.

… …

Henry opened his eyes to darkness as he tucked the pocket-watch back into his pocket. He could hear drops of water echo throughout the cave he suddenly found himself in. He opened up his hand and a fireball appeared. With the fire cradled in the palm of his hands, he turned this way and that to get a better understanding of his surroundings. Without uttering a word, he gestured the fireball from his hand to float above his head like a lighted torch to light his way.

Henry moved forward and squinted into the darkness. All he could see was rock. He shuffled tentatively forward across the graveled ground. With each crunching step that ricocheted off the surrounding walls he wondered what the great and powerful Merlin was doing in a place like this. It wasn't until he stepped on something soft that he realized he was no longer walking on stone. He stepped back off of the soft ground and immediately inspected the mysterious terrain. With a cue of his hand, he commanded the fireball to come closer to the ground before him.

Moss… Grass… in a dark, dank cave? As the fire's light moved over the questionable mound he noticed the mound getting larger. The grass and moss melded with light-grey hair and the hair led to the sleeping face of the man he was looking for.

"Merlin?" questioned Henry as he bent forward removing years of green growth from the old wizard's body. The fingertips of Henry's hand accidentally brushed Merlin's face and upon contact the sleeping man's eyes shot open. At the sudden movement Henry became startled and fell backwards onto the ground. Merlin rustled slowly and unearthed himself from his earthy blanket. As the wizard gradually stood up, Henry could hear every crack of the old man's bones.

"My, my, my…" yawned the wizard, "that was quite the nap if I do say so myself." Merlin extended his arms and stretched some more. With every gesture of the old man, more cracks and pops of his joints were heard. "Lesson learned, never trust a pretty woman without getting to know her name first." Merlin turned his body fully toward Henry and squinted at him as if trying to identify him. "You're not a woman are you?"

"Uh… no."

"Oh good, good, good. Some women have baritone voices you know. They can be very tricky like that. Wouldn't want to start off on the wrong foot… Wrong foot! Ha ha! What a funny phrase! You need both feet to walk correctly, so inherently both feet are right. However, if you have two actual right feet, well then, I guess the phrase makes sense," he babbled to himself as he smacked his dry lips.

"Sir," started Henry hesitantly as he got up onto his feet again, "my name is-"

"-Henry. Yes, yes, I know who you are. I've been waiting for you," Merlin said impatiently as he got closer to him, "but I can't see you. Let us adjourn to a place with better lighting. I want to see you with my own two eyes." Merlin said as he looked around aimlessly. Henry waited awkwardly for something to happen, but instead Merlin sighed impatiently.

"Is something wrong?" Henry asked.

"Oh yes. I can't seem to find my materials. Without them, I can't perform my magic."

"I can help you. What would you like me to do?"

"I need light, boy!" said Merlin as he smacked Henry's chest with frustration as if scolding him for not knowing. "Must I do all the thinking? I said I needed light so give me more light! The witch who trapped me used dark magic. Only light can get us out and now I can't see a darn thing!"

"More light? You need more… _light_ magic?" wondered Henry, completely confused. "But this fireball I've created has light…" said Henry as he pointed toward the glowing orb hovering above them.

"Let me guess," said the bearded hunchback wizard. "You learned how to do that using dark magic, possibly from a dark sorceress I bet."

"She's not a dark sorceress anymore!" exclaimed Henry defensively. "She's my mother!"

"Ooooo!" Merlin taunted playfully. "Sensitive are we? You're right. Maybe you're not a woman after all. Maybe you're just a pansy."

"For a person who's been trapped for a very long time and is now being rescued, you don't sound very grateful."

Merlin cackled at Henry's comment. "You were right about my being trapped, the rescuing part… well that still remains to be seen." Merlin left Henry stunned as he started to wander off into the cave in an aimless direction, humming a random off-pitch melody to himself.

"Light magic. _Light magic_ ," repeated Henry as if coaching himself to focus. All the lessons he had ever learned were from people who possessed or used to possess dark magic. Unlike Regina, Emma's "magic lessons" were basically magic-less. She believed in the power of self-reliance, hard work and cunning and to only use magic when it was absolutely necessary. One of the lessons he had learned from her was to never underestimate the power of True Love. Henry knew Emma was the product of True Love, so inherently her magic was naturally "light magic". As fortunate as he was to have had such a well-rounded magical education from both of his mothers, it was unfortunate that none of the lessons he had learned from either one of them were helping him at the moment. Henry tried to concentrate, but with Merlin's obnoxious humming in the background it made his task to think more challenging. "Could you keep it down? I can't think."

"Think, think, think, nag, nag, nag. You had all the time in the world to do both those things before arriving here. If one has a way to get in, then one surely has a way to get out. So the real question is how _did_ you arrive here?"

Henry felt Cogsworth within his jacket pocket and suddenly realized, that the spell he used to create Cogsworth was never taught by anyone except himself. It was made out of love for his own father; his own light magic. "I do have a way out!"

Henry reached for the wizard's hand and asked, "Where would you like to go?"

"To your grandfather's castle."

"Snow White and Prince Charming's castle?" Henry asked unsure.

"Are you as tall as you are stupid? I meant the Dark One's castle."

"You don't have to be mean," stated Henry. This Merlin was not at all as he had imagined from the books he had read or the movies he had watched and he was starting to regret his decision to come.

"And you don't have to be so thick."

Reluctantly, Henry took out his enchanted pocket-watch and called out, "Cogsworth, take me-"

"Us!" corrected Merlin quickly.

"- _Us_ … to the Dark One's castle."

In an orange glow, the two disappeared from the cave and reappeared at the steps of the Dark One's castle.

* * *

 **My deepest apologies for the belated posting. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Things are starting to heat up now in my story. What do you guys think about Merlin so far? He's a bit crotchety, isn't he? Lol.**

 **Thank you Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma, NatalieMosherRumbelle, Grace5231973, BreathingintheSun, and Montreat11 for your well appreciated reviews! You guys are seriously the best. Next chapter we'll see what happens to Henry and Merlin at the Dark One's castle. Not gonna lie, I'm a bit nervous about posting this next chapter. Not only is it the most crucial part of my story, it's also the most complicated to explain. I hope it answers some of the questions you have. I also hope that what I'm trying to convey makes sense on your end. Oh well. I suppose we won't know until I actually post it, but until then see you next chapter!**


	14. The Revelation

… _ **Three days ago…At the Dark One Castle…**_

As soon as Henry and Merlin arrived at the front steps of the castle, Henry immediately let go of the old man's shoulders. With the sun high in the sky, Henry finally turned to get a better look at his ungrateful companion. Merlin's long white beard flowed down to his chest which was covered by a brown wool shirt. Henry couldn't tell if the garment was originally brown or if it was years of dirt saturated into the material, but his pants seemed most uncomfortable being that they appeared to have been made of burlap. The last striking quality about Merlin's attire that Henry noticed was the old wizard's feet. As if Merlin wasn't strange enough already, the old man wasn't wearing any shoes. What was this powerful wizard doing not wearing any shoes? It begged questioning, but Henry had more pertinent questions that demanded answering.

Merlin turned to see his rescuer and squinted from all the sunlight. The sunlight felt good on both of their skins again and upon soaking up the sun's rays, Merlin smiled. Merlin got what he wanted. Light.

"You got what you wanted, so what do we do…" said Henry as he trailed off. The moment Merlin's eyes opened, Henry recognized something very familiar. Perhaps it was the shape of Merlin's face or the combination of the two. He couldn't put his finger on it. Before Henry could speculate on what it was, Merlin interrupted his thought.

"…now?" said the old wizard, finishing Henry's sentence. "We go in!"

Affronted Henry said, "Not even a thank you, huh?"

"Thanks," said Merlin shortly as if Henry saving him was an inconvenience.

Henry shook his head indignantly as Merlin proceeded towards the castle on his own. They walked into the castle's foyer and were about to enter the main room when Henry suddenly remembered Rumplestiltskin's booby-trap and ran in front of the old man to stop him.

"Wait! Let me. The doors are trapped," insisted Henry as he placed his body between the old man and the door. Merlin ignored Henry, pushing him to the side as he pressed forward. It was strange seeing how confident and comfortable Merlin was entering the Dark One's castle. It almost appeared as if he knew every inch of it. He even knew of the front doors that burst into flames if you tried to open it with your bare hands. When Henry first visited the castle he used magic to open them, but Merlin knew of a different trick. He approached the giant oak doors slowly and grabbed the doorknobs using the cloth of his wool shirt. With great success and little effort on his end, he opened the doors. Henry was amazed, "How did you know…?"

"My dear boy, there's a lot more to this old codfish than what meets the eye."

Henry followed after Merlin until they made it into the Great Hall. As if knowing exactly where to go Merlin ventured over to the grandiose glass case up against the wall and started searching for something.

"What are you looking for? Perhaps I can help you find it," Henry asked, looking on at Merlin curiously.

"The Grail."

 _The Grail?_ The idea stopped Henry short in his tracks. He looked around the room and began searching for the majestic goblet he thought he had seen before. He walked over to the cup which was placed on its own special pedestal in the far off corner of the room.

"Is this it?" Henry said while grabbing the cup, brandishing it toward the wizard. Merlin laughed uncontrollably at the sight of the ridiculously gemmed goblet.

"That old thing! Ha! No. That is, what we like to call in the magic business, misdirection. An illusion. A guise. A farce! A glorified paper weight," joked Merlin as he laughed in Henry's face making him feel foolish.

Henry looked back and forth from Merlin to the cup and placed it back on the pedestal. "Then what in the hell am I looking for?" asked Henry angrily.

Merlin shuffled his feet as he walked over towards the fake grail, chuckling to himself along the way. "I told you, the Grail… it's a glorified paper weight. Tell me, what does a cup, besides it being a good place-holder, have in common with paper?"

It seemed like a ridiculous question, but then again, this whole venture seemed ridiculous so Henry saw no harm in playing the game as he replied, "They both… hold things. With the cup it's liquid. With the paper it's words."

"Very good! What if I were to tell you," Merlin said as his fingers tapped the rim of the goblet, "that books are chalices too. They hold information so precious and dear that they could teach you how to bring about life or death and not just stories. Sure cups hold water, but the only thing this cup does… hehehe," he giggled as he plucked the goblet from the pedestal with one hand, "is protect the invaluable paper beneath it. It appears your grandfather took more than just the goblet." Merlin removed, what Henry thought was a placemat a single sheet of paper from beneath the goblet and waved it in front of Henry.

"So, it is literally a paper weight."

"Exactly! Made from only the rarest of enchanted pine… the same kind of wood that was made to build your mother's wooden portal to escape the curse and what created your puppet friend. Just one of many of my ingenious ideas! Oh the cleverness of me! "

"I still don't understand. What's the paper got to do with anything?"

"Dear, dear handsomely dull-witted boy, have you not already extrapolated who you are? If I'm Merlin then you are…"

"Henry. I'm the Savior's son… I'm…"

"No, no, no! Arthur! That's right. _The_ Arthur."

"As in Knights of the Round Table?"

"Yes and no. Sorry, my accent must confuse your little brain. You're _The Author_. A writer. And only the true Author can wield the pen. Reveal the pen to me. I know you have it."

Dumbstruck, Henry pulled out the mysterious pen from within his coat pocket and held it in his hands. "But… it's just a pen. I can't be Arthur. Arthur pulled a sword from the stone, not a pen."

"Ah, yes! But in this world, the pen is mightier than the sword. You did pull it out of a stone, did you not? Given to you by some watery tart too, I bet." Henry immediately thought of Ariel. Merlin was right. She was the mermaid who practically handed the pen to him and it was him who had pulled it out from the stone. She was the Lady of the Lake. Just like the story, The Sword in the Stone. "What you hold in your possession," continued Merlin, "is the most powerful object in all the lands because that pen is the creator of stories, of heroes and villains and of happy endings. Making all of this… magic, time travel, realm jumping possible."

"But," stuttered Henry, "You're the most powerful and infamous wizard in all folklore!"

"That's because I wrote myself to be that way. You see, I _was_ the Author. And now, sadly, that pen has chosen you to be the next one. Those materials I was talking about in the cave, this was it; the pen and paper. I go by many names of course, not just Merlin. I will gladly accept Composer, Artist, Originator, Creator, but for this story's purposes, call me Merlin. I am the maker of anything and the designer of this story. Anything is possible when you are the penholder to your own story. I deliberately wrote myself to be this powerful."

"Why?"

"Every author out there who creates stories knows their characters intimately, deeply, personally. What if this author has found a way to interact with its beloved characters? Unfortunately, in order for my interaction to be possible in this story, there are rules."

"Rules… Prices… Like without this pen and that paper, you're powerless."

"Look it here," mocked Merlin with the tone of surprise, "the boy does have a brain."

"No! I… I can't be… Arthur. I can't be _The Author_ ," Henry stuttered in disbelief. It was too much to take in.

"Let me prove it to you," said Merlin taking the blank parchment over to the long dining table at the center of the room and slapping it onto the table. "Write, 'Henry acquires the long sought-after Sorcerer's hat and wears it to bring about his happy ending along with the happy endings of everyone else he promised.' "

"What?" said Henry still stunned.

Merlin sighed disappointedly and replied impatiently, "Just write, 'Henry puts on the Sorcerer's Hat.' "

Henry leaned over the parchment on the table and hesitated.

"What's wrong?" questioned Merlin. "Is this not why you came all this way to wake me up from my sleep?"

 _Acquiring the hat was for the happy endings, wasn't it?_ Henry thought. "What if," Henry doubted, "I just start writing everybody else's happy endings?"

"You could, but without the hat, the pen's magic has only enough ink for one wish. So make it count. Oh, and uh, be careful what you wish for… you might just get what you want," warned Merlin slyly as he waved his eyebrows up and down. Henry stared at the pen some more, still unsure what he wanted to do. Merlin continued impatiently, "Let's get on with your wish then. I'm sure you wish for your happy ending. Tell me boy, what does your happy ending look like?"

"I… I don't know. I was hoping you would tell me."

"I will give you one piece of advice… no one can define your happiness, but I know of _something_ that can… my hat. Only my hat can bring about what it is that you desire. Since you're the penholder now, I can no longer make the changes. So you must decide. If you want to know what everyone's happy ending is, then you'll need to wear the hat to find out. Otherwise, write your one wish."

All those years of studying magic and trying to figure out what to do with himself and this is what it came down to. Henry didn't want to waste the pen's magic on himself for one wish. The very idea seemed selfish. Not that he knew what he'd wish for. He could tell that Merlin was pressuring him to make a decision. There was something missing. Something Merlin was withholding, but what? The whole thing didn't seem fair. He wished there was more time to decide. _With the hat_ , he reasoned, _I'd have all the time in the world to decide_. He stared down at the blank paper in front of him and aggressively scribbled,

" _Henry puts on the Sorcerer's Hat."_

The Sorcerer's hat suddenly appeared above Merlin's head. Merlin removed the once invisible hat from his head and placed it on the table on top of the paper. As soon as the hat had parted from his hands, the old man collapsed to the floor.

"Merlin?!" exclaimed Henry out of concern. Henry fell to the floor besides Merlin's body and out of the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of the mystical hat. An inexplicable force within him compelled Henry to ignore the old man and move towards the hat. He got up from the ground and his hands reached for the hat. Without question, Henry placed the Sorcerer's hat on his head. A golden-orange glow embossed his entire body.

Merlin stirred from where he fell on the floor and in a groggy voice called out, "Henry! Don't!"

It was too late. Arthur looked down upon the old man. With an evil grin, Arthur waved his hand over his head and magically cloaked the Sorcerer's hat.

* * *

 **I couldn't wait to post this. What did you all think?**

 **Thank you BreathingintheSun, NatalieMosherRumbelle, Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma, Grace5231973 and Montreat11 for reviewing last chapter. Can't wait to hear what you think of this one. See you next chapter, hopefully Sunday.**


	15. Gemini

… _ **Present Day…**_

"So you see," carried on Arthur, "I might have lied to Henry when I didn't reveal my true identity but to tell him the truth would have prevented him from fulfilling his destiny. Not that he would have understood anyways. Arthur isn't my true name, it's my pen name. Though I think 'Arthur' and 'Author' make for quite the witty alliteration, wouldn't you agree? Anyways, for each new _'body of work'_ I inhabit I assume a different pen name. This hat," he said while pointing at the hat on his head, "is what I'm using to control him right now. Henry's body is just the host. _I_ … am actually the Author to this story. Somewhere out in the universe I am typing out this very story, writing out each word we say as we speak at this very moment. In all reality, I'm really just a huge fan of this story… and this place! I wrote the Sorcerer's hat to be this powerful so that I could interact with you guys. This is really a dream come true for me. And oh! In case you were wondering," Arthur said as he brandished the pen from inside his jacket pocket, "this pen chooses my next host and this hat… is how I control my host."

"Great," replied Emma dryly, "We're dealing with a fan-fiction writer." Arthur turned and scowled at Emma for her comment. "You're insane," Emma said fearlessly.

"Am I?" Arthur began walking around the group confidently, making everyone in the circle nervous. "I needed Henry to retrieve this pen for me. As you may or may not know, my last host was trapped for a very long time by Cora. She was the one who stole that pen from me. When she came to Storybrooke, she must have tossed the item into the water cementing it to stone to make sure no one saw it again."

"So what happens now? What will happen to Henry?" said Regina getting straight to the point.

"Don't worry. I won't be using Henry for long. His body is only temporary. As I said, I only needed him to bring the pen to me. That's why he was chosen. No, the actual person this hat is intended for," Arthur said as he walked right up to Mr. Gold, "is Rumplestiltskin."

"No," denied Mr. Gold.

"No?" scoffed Arthur. "You can't refuse it. It's your destiny. Besides, I know you want it. No matter what world, what universe we find ourselves in, you always choose this hat because as your Author I know you always choose power."

"That's not true!" exclaimed Belle. "He gave up his quest for power when he chose to leave this world of magic."

"Yeah, you would think that wouldn't you?" contradicted Arthur. "Rumplestiltskin is quite the clever deceiver. I mean, he has certainly led you to believe that, hasn't he?"

"Rumple? Is that true?" Belle asked, turning to Gold. Gold was speechless. He couldn't even look into Belle's eyes, which only confirmed to Belle that it was.

"The only reason why he left Storybrooke was because he couldn't find the hat in time. He left because it was _your_ happy ending. Not his. He doesn't believe in his happy ending because for centuries he's never experienced happiness. Believe me, time lived in misery can change a person and he was very reluctant to leave his magic behind. Even the thought of his grandson having control over him, over his magic, well… he just couldn't stand it."

"That's a lie!" spat Mr. Gold at Arthur as he set Lily on the ground. Arthur gave Gold a guile smile. As soon as Lily's feet touched the ground she moved quickly over towards her mother, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist.

"Is it?" said Arthur slyly. "I know you, ALL of you, better than you know yourselves. Take for example, your hearts. I know that you share each other's hearts because you wanted to ensure Belle's survival for when she gave birth to Lily," he said while looking over at Belle, Rumplestiltskin and Lily. At eye contact, Lily shrunk deeper behind her mother. Arthur turned back to Gold and said, "Your one saving grace has been Belle's other half-heart which is currently beating in your chest. Her strength has been what's helped you resist temptation before, but not anymore." Arthur raised the Author's pen in the air in front of Belle's and Gold's chest like an orchestra conductor and swiftly crossed them, making a switching gesture.

At the sudden movement, Belle and Gold gasped and clutched at their chests. The impact knocked both of Lily's parents to their knees. "Mama! Papa!" Lily cried out.

"There… I just did you two a favor. Now both of your hearts have been restored to your original bodies," said Arthur proudly.

Lily did her best to help both of her struggling parents to their feet. David and Mary-Margaret came closer together to protect Neal. Regina gritted her teeth and gave Arthur a vicious scowl. Emma's knuckles cracked as she clenched both her fists. Arthur noticed Regina's malicious look and Emma's white knuckles. "Ooh! You two _really_ want to hurt me, don't you? Oh, but you can't because I'm using dear ol' Henry's body," taunted Arthur excitedly. He continued to mock as he smirked, "If you are going to beat me up though, please… just mind the face."

"I don't understand. Why Rumplestiltskin?" asked Regina as she tried to calmly withdraw her threatening stance. She looked over at the fallen couple who were finally standing on their own two feet again. She looked back at Arthur and said, "Seems like a lot of work to get him to wear the hat."

"When you work with time travel it can get a bit complicated. No need to fret your little head over it. Just know that his participation in the wearing of the hat is not only essential, it's inevitable."

"After everything you just told us," said Gold between struggled breaths, "what makes you so sure I'll put that damn thing on my head?"

"It's true. The hat is never forced upon one's head, but now that your heart is whole again the Dark One Curse is even more potent. Without Belle's untainted heart you won't be able to resist temptation like you had before."

"So there _are_ limits," pointed out Regina. "No one can be that omnipotent."

"How very astute…," smiled Arthur turning to Regina, "and cunning, just like your mother. Yes, there are 'limits' to my power. Sure I can travel through time but that's only because it's through stories that time travel is possible. And although writing time travel stories can be exciting, seldom do I utilize that writing genre because writing time travel can get very complicated. And true, I cannot make a character change or do something that would be out of that person's character to do it. However, I could write circumstances in the story that would inevitably lead the character into making the small but necessary changes that would undoubtedly lead up to the dramatic character change. The real trick is making it seem like it all occurred seamlessly and not be at the expense of the overall story. I do take certain liberties, as most writers do of course, but they are all based on the construct and confines of previous stories written before me. Those stories are my parameters and my limits."

"But why all of this? Why kidnap Lily?" Belle wondered as she and Rumple got back up to their feet.

"Because there are readers out there, right now, reading this from the comfort of their homes wanting to read a good story. Believe it or not, I'm actually here for Henry's happy ending."

" _Really?_ " said Regina dryly as she raised her eye-brow in disbelief.

"Really," confirmed Arthur. "And it's not just me, my readers want it too."

"And what exactly, may I ask, is Henry's happy ending?" Emma asked skeptically.

"You all are his happy ending; having his family together," sighed Arthur with satisfaction.

"So that's why you took Lily," understood Rumplestiltskin.

Henry tapped his nose at Rumplestiltskin, acknowledging and confirming his reply. "Had to get the plot started somehow and it's such a good story, isn't it? All of the great fairy tale characters working together to defeat a formidable foe. And what a joy it is for me to have such lovely, juicy characters to write for too! That's why I exist. Henry's goal in bringing everyone's happy endings, it's inherently what I want to do too. And since his goals just so happen to coincide with my own, it's one of the many reasons why he's one of my destined hosts. It's poetic, really." Arthur carried on, waving his hands this way and that as if marveling at his own genius."I would like to think that I'm more of a benevolent author. Believe me, there are worse writers out there. Though it would appear…," he said while looking slowly around at Henry's family and realizing his role in the story, "that since all of you are basically the protagonists to this story that would make me… the _antagonist_ … Oh well," he said, shirking off the negative actualization blithely, "Sacrifices must be made for the sake of art and I will gladly play the villain if that means having a great story. You can't have a great story without a great villain."

"You're such a martyr," said Regina sarcastically.

Arthur ignored Regina's quip as he slapped his hands together excitedly and proclaimed, "And now… on to the climax!"

Arthur turned his head slowly towards Lily who was cowering besides her mother. "Poor, poor Lily," said Arthur as he moved closer to Belle and Lily shaking his head. "I had such high hopes for you, but unfortunately you're just not real."

" _Step away from my daughter!_ " snapped Gold fiercely, as he bravely placed his body protectively between Arthur and his family. "And what do you mean she's not real?"

"She only exists in this story, because I created her. Well," Arthur said as he rolled his eyes to correct himself, "Yes, you both created her but only because I wrote it to be so. She's a construct of my mind. My readers and I wanted her to exist."

Arthur looked directly at Lily making direct eye-contact with her. Lily was frozen in place and felt like she was in a trance. For some reason she couldn't look away from Arthur's cold eyes.

"I don't care if you're using my grandson's body. Nobody threatens my family," growled Gold as he formed a fireball the size of a bowling ball in his hands.

"Rumple!" shouted Belle, gripping Lily tightly. She could tell that he was losing control.

"Gold!" cried out everyone in the family.

"What are you doing?" shouted David.

"See Lily?!" exclaimed Arthur, while looking at Lily. "Didn't I tell you?! The stories _are_ true. _Your father is the Beast!_ "

Lily couldn't believe her own eyes. Arthur was right. Her father is the Beast and her mother is Beauty. And Neal was right about her father being the Dark Sorcerer that everyone feared. In that brief moment, she saw in her father's eyes the fire's intense reflection and just behind that an evil darkness that could have only formed after witnessing hundreds of years of death and destruction. It was incredibly frightening and profound for the seven year old to handle and it paralyzed her. Was this a nightmare? She had never seen this side of her father in all of her life. This was the same man who just a day ago hugged, kissed and played with her. She knew him to be friendly, safe, gentle and loving, but was suddenly frightened by what she saw. Out of fear, Lily closed her eyes and tried to imagine the safest place in the world. She didn't want to believe in Arthur, but her eyes knew it to be true. Suddenly, she disappeared from the gathering and everything became suddenly silent.

… …

"Lily!" cried out Belle who felt nothing but air as she patted and waved around at the vacant area that used to be her daughter's body. She looked up and with a menacing look she directed her hysterics towards Arthur. In no time at all she stormed right up to Arthur coming face to face without hesitation, blocking her husband's fireball as she exuded her wrath upon the Author. Although Arthur was much taller than Belle, it didn't matter to her. As soon as she was within an inch of his face, she grabbed him by the collar and forcefully brought his smug face down to her level as she accused fiercely, "Where did she go?! What did you do?!"

Frightened and shocked by Belle's unexpected maternal reaction, he replied more timidly, "I did nothing to your daughter! She's still alive, if that's your concern!" After hearing his response, Belle released her vice-grip on his collar and backed away from him. Arthur straightened his tie and nervously cleared his throat before saying, "Your daughter is more special than you realize."

Gold extinguished the fireball that was meant for Arthur and instead pointed a furious finger at him, "You wanted me to frighten her! You wanted her to see this side of me!"

"Perhaps I did," said Arthur confirming Gold's accusations. He turned to Belle and responded in kind, "And it wasn't me who did anything to her." He coolly clasped his hands together as if to pretend he had complete control over the situation again. "She magicked herself away from here completely on her own. I told you she was special. Neal knows what I'm talking about. He, too, has the answers you seek."

Everyone turned to look at Neal who was being shrouded and protected by his own parents. The Charmings looked down at their son. "Neal," said David as he got to his knees to look at his son in the eyes at his level. "Do you know where Lily went?"

Belle kept looking back and forth from Arthur to Neal and asked, "And does she know how to use magic?"

Why was Arthur putting him front and center? Neal didn't know whether or not she was magical, he only knew what she revealed about herself in the brief interaction they had together on the walk back to Storybrooke. He thought hard about the conversation they had before being reunited with their parents. _Was_ she magical? She never said that she was. What did he know about her? He knew that she didn't have a jacket and that she was cold. They shared a jacket. They talked about Storybrooke, New York and magic… _his_ magic. Then he realized that he _did_ describe what using magic to disappear was like and that he _did_ unintentionally teach her how it was done. How was he supposed to know that she was magical?

Neal didn't like how his family suddenly surrounded him. It was practically suffocating. He felt uncomfortable and with everyone's eyes staring at him he didn't like it. It made him want to run away to his favorite hiding spot at the library. Then suddenly he remembered the conversation they had about what she liked. She liked libraries. He didn't want to defy his parents, so it took all the courage he had to do what he was about to do next. He shook his father's grasp and backed away from his family. They all stared at him as if he was guilty of doing something wrong. In Neal's mind he did nothing wrong. All he did was befriend a girl who needed help, so it upset him to be viewed with such consternation. "Lily went to the safest place she could think of and I might have taught her how to disappear, ok?" Neal said anxiously, getting more upset as the moments went on.

Mary-Margaret's jaw hung open in awe, "Neal! How could you have taught her? You don't know magic."

This was the moment that Neal never wanted to face. He never wanted to tell his parents about the magic he possessed because he was afraid of the responsibility and notoriety that came with it. He didn't want to be different. He wanted to be normal and non-magical like his parents. He didn't want to stand out and be like his sister Emma. Neal also didn't want to lie to his parents, which put him in a precarious position. So Neal took a breath and said to his mother with tears of shame in his eyes, "I do, Mom."

At Neal's final words, he disappeared from the group too. Both David and Mary-Margaret were shocked over the surprise. Every adult in the party looked around wildly when Emma pointed out over their shoulders, "He's over there! He's heading back to town."

The party looked over in the direction Emma was pointing at and saw Neal disappear. David, Mary-Margaret and Emma ran after their missing family member, leaving Regina, Belle, and Gold to tend to Arthur.

"He keeps reappearing at shorter distances, which means," observed Regina, "he's learning the ability to vanish. That's why he keeps reappearing at shorter distances. No novice learns to master that technique right away."

"Well apparently," Arthur notes, "Lily has. And thanks to her parents, she's inherited quite the magical gift from both of her parents."

" _Both_ of her parents?" Regina wondered, thinking she misunderstood Arthur. Regina turned to Belle and questioned, " _You're_ magical? How are _you_ magical?"

" _Safest place_ …" repeated Belle, ignoring Regina's questions. Suddenly it occurred to Belle that she knew exactly where her daughter was. "I know where she is!" exclaimed Belle out loud to her husband.

"Before you go, I do have one parting gift for you," said Arthur, stopping Belle in her tracks. What was he going to do next? She needed to know his next move. "As an act of good faith and because I know the outcome to this story anyways I'm going to take off the hat and offer it to you. That's how confident I am because I know in the end," he turned looking at Rumplestiltskin, "you will be wearing this hat."

"You've been so verbal before with your gloating and explanations. Why stop now?" goaded Regina.

"Because, Regina, that wouldn't be interesting. Not only would explaining be too easy, it's just bad storytelling. Just the idea of free will is enough to intrigue the readers and keep them reading. Make your choice. I know that it'll be you," said Arthur as he lifted the enchanted hat from off of his head and placed it on the ground. As soon as the hat parted from his fingers, Henry collapsed to the ground and became unconscious.

"Henry!" cried out Regina as she ran over to cradle her son's head.

Gold saw the exposed hat and felt drawn by its power. He wanted it. He needed it.

"Rumple! Don't!" cried out Belle as she ran towards her husband. His hands were within arms' reach when suddenly it disappeared before their very eyes.

"Where did it go?!" he exclaimed out loud. Belle collided into her husband and scolded, "Rumple, what were you going to do with that hat?"

"I… I…" stammered Gold. Suddenly he held his chest and turned to Belle shamefully, "…I have to go."

" _Go?_ Go where?!" Belle questioned.

"The dagger…" he muttered when suddenly her husband disappeared from her too.

Belle looked up, stunned and bewildered. She saw Regina try to resuscitate Henry, but to no success. Belle was conflicted. She wanted to help Regina, but she knew she needed to find her daughter. Regina looked up and saw the confliction on Belle's face. "Go! Go find your daughter. Henry and I will be fine here."

Belle gave Regina a grateful nod and turned away to run into town. She went to the only place in this town that had always been her sanctuary; the library. She just never thought that it would be Lily's sanctuary too. As she ran into town, she thought about everything she had learned. Even the events that had unfolded before her seemed to blur together.

… _Arthur restoring her and Rumple's hearts… His full heart affecting him more so than usual… Lily disappearing... Arthur willingly giving up the Sorcerer's hat to Rumplestiltskin… Henry collapsing and leaving the hat exposed… Rumple being tempted by the hat's power… Rumple being commanded by the dagger to go elsewhere… the dagger that was not in Henry's possession…_

The dagger was never in his possession. But if it was never in Henry's possession, then who has it? Who has been using it?

Out of breath, she trotted but still kept in motion. Without a car or magic it was quite the jog to Storybrooke's library from the forest's edge. She stared at the magnificent clock-tower as she approached the building and hoped beyond hope that the doors were open. Belle grabbed the door's handle and thankfully the doors opened for her. When she entered the building she once thought to be her second home, she called out into the peaceful library, "Lily! Lily, honey, it's me. It's Mummy! I'm not upset…"

Suddenly she saw her husband and gasped at the sight of him. He stood there before her relaxed and composed, rotating the Dark One dagger slowly in his hands. Is this where he had disappeared off to? How did he get the dagger?

"Belle," said Rumple calmly to her. It wasn't right. Why was he upset one moment and then calm the next? It didn't make sense.

"Rumple… you-you found the dagger? Where… Where's Lily? Have you seen her?"

"I have," he said as he came closer to his wife, handing off the Dark One dagger to her. She hesitantly accepted the dagger from him, but stared at him suspiciously. His cool exterior made no sense. She looked at the dagger with incredible confusion and then set the weapon back on top of the circulation desk. The dagger was the least of her concerns. She wanted her daughter safely back in her arms.

"Well then where is she?" Belle asked anxiously, frustration ebbing at her voice.

"She's upstairs. In your old apartment," he answered with a gentle smile.

"Then why are you down here?" she demanded.

"I'm here, so that I don't ever have to make the same mistake again," he said as he brought Belle's vulnerable hand up to his lips to kiss. Just as Rumplestiltskin kissed the top of Belle's hand, another Rumplestiltskin burst through the library doors and shouted furiously at his doppelganger, "Step away from my wife!"

The angry Rumplestiltskin by the door magically flung his twin up against the wall and upon impact the twin grimaced with pain as the wind became suddenly knocked out of his lungs. Seeing the two identical individuals suddenly interact with each other was an unbelievable sight to see and Belle felt helpless as she stood by watching with awe. The angry Rumplestiltskin came within an inch of his double's face, gripping threateningly at his suit's jacket and said while growling through his teeth, "Now reveal yourself, charlatan!"

The angry Rumple waved his hand over the injured Rumple and the injured Rumple's facial hair instantly grew out. Not only did his hair grow out, it grew white revealing himself to be…

"No! You're Merlin?!" Rumple said shocked.

" _We…_ ," corrected Merlin between struggled breaths, " _We_ are Merlin… I'm you from the future. Merlin is the pen name the Author gives to us when he occupies our body."

However stunned Belle was by what was happening, she somehow managed to ask, "What?! How?"…

… …

* * *

 **Phew! What an exciting chapter! So much dialogue and action happening. And sorry to leave you guys on a cliff-hanger. The next following chapters will be like telling another story within a story, but starting from the perspective of Rumple/Merlin when Henry puts on the Sorcerer's hat at the Dark Castle. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as you did the last chapter. I was so relieved to read from your reviews that most of you got what was happening between Henry and Merlin. Hopefully this chapter answered a few more of your questions along the way too.**

 **Thank you to Grace5231973, Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma, BreathingintheSun, Montreat11 and NatalieMosherRumbelle for your reviews. You guys are way too cool. Looking forward to hearing from you all soon. See you next chapter!**


	16. Merlin's Story Part 1 of 5

… _ **Three days ago at the Dark Castle…**_

"Henry! Don't!" shouted Rumplestiltskin in a groggy voice, but it was too late. Henry had already placed the Sorcerer's hat on his head. Rumple could tell that when Henry opened his eyes that it was no longer his grandson. Arthur looked down at Rumple and smiled mischievously. Arthur waved at his head and the hat suddenly became invisible.

"Come along… _grandpa_ ," Arthur joked. "We need to get going. Collect what you need and let's go."

As Arthur slipped the pen and paper back into his coat jacket pocket, Rumple looked around the room that once belonged to him. He suddenly felt disoriented and tried to focus on the task at hand. They were heading back to Storybrooke. Rumple, however, was going back for a different reason; to be back with his family. A family he had left because of his decision to wear the hat. Part of him knew that he would be back to see them again one day, but he didn't realize how much of his life would be sacrificed to time to get to this point. He had spent a lot of time being a slave under the Author's hat, and it was a price that wasn't worth what he had bargained for.

Rumple struggled getting up from off the ground and used the table beside him to hoist himself up. He moved as quickly as he could towards the giant wall and waved his hands over it. Almost instantly a hidden compartment revealed itself before him. He placed his hands over the knob and upon recognizing the hand, the blood magic melted away granting him access to the materials within. He knew exactly what he needed; the Dark One dagger.

As soon as he held the blade in his hands he turned to face Arthur. Arthur looked up at him impatiently and said, "We don't have all day old man."

"Says the man who can manipulate time," murmured Rumple sarcastically under his breath as he tucked away the blade inside his rope belt. "I find it amazing that, even in this circumstance, the prophecy about you still holds true. You will somehow always be my undoing."

"Henry is no longer your primary concern," directed Arthur. "Your top priority now is to make sure your past self gets this hat."

"I understand what I must do."

"Good. Then let's go," said Arthur as he pulled out Cogsworth. "Cogsworth, take us back to Storybrooke."

At the last possible second, Arthur placed a hand on Rumple's shoulder and they disappeared from the castle. When they reappeared they found themselves at the edge of town. As soon as they arrived Arthur immediately let go of his touch. The dawn was breaking and they were alone. They could hear birds in the distance caw as the morning fog rolled in. Arthur broke the serenity by barking orders, "You must not interact with yourself. In fact, you shouldn't interact with anybody. You don't exist in Storybrooke. If you interact with anybody, you risk destroying everyone, including your family in the space time loop."

"You need to be just as careful," warned Rumplestiltskin. "Emma Swan in particular. You may be the Author, but she is still the savior. She isn't a construct of your story, so her actions may not be as predictable as you think. As the savior she will do as her character must to protect and defend everyone in this town."

"Don't you worry about Emma. I can handle her. You leave her to me."

"Likewise… when my family comes back to Storybrooke you leave them to me."

"You will have them when the time is right," Arthur said authoritatively to Rumplestiltskin, neither confirming nor denying his wishes. Arthur chuckled to himself as he marveled, "It appears that you need me as much as I need you."

"So it would seem, but I warn you," said Rumplestiltskin as he pointed a threatening finger looking dead into Arthur's cold eyes, "you harm my daughter and…"

"-and what? You'll hurt me? You can't hurt me."Arthur scoffed blithely over Rumplestiltskin's threat, but then he saw the malicious look on Rumple's face. Arthur could see that Rumplestiltskin wasn't kidding around and wouldn't put it past him to find a loophole to his story. It was, after all, in his character to do so. Arthur coughed nervously to stifle his laughter. "No harm will come to your daughter," promised Arthur quickly changing his tone. "You forget, _Rumplestiltskin_. We share the same interests. If we work in tandem, you will get your happy ending as promised."

"We shall see," said Rumplestiltskin doubtfully.

With the Author using Henry's body, he magically vanished into thin air leaving an old Rumplestiltskin behind to his own devices. It had been so long since he had control over his own faculties that the act of simply walking was a struggle. All he needed was just a little support. Not that he was unaccustomed to walking disability. Thanks to his being occupied by the Sorcerer's hat, the old war wound to his ankle was gone. Despite the vanished injury, he still had to survive with his present condition. He meandered towards the woods and searched for a decent walking stick. As soon as he found the right stick to lean on he pressed forward, walking down the long road.

As he walked down the road he could feel the dagger at his hip smacking against his leg. Both his legs were still stiff perhaps atrophied from ill-use. He did, after all, just wake up from a couple decades long nap so he had to give himself some credit. As much as walking was good for his body he didn't have the time or power to manipulate time anymore… or did he?

He paused for a moment in his walking and stretched his hands. After a series of crackling and popping in his joints he held his hands out and waved them over his body. He disappeared. When he reappeared, he was still on the road surrounded by forest. He didn't make it all the way into town like he had wanted to. This was both a good and a bad thing. It was good because it meant that he still had residual magic left, but it was bad because it meant that his magic was much, much weaker than it was before. Not only did the hat take away his Dark Curse, it took away his source of power and there was no telling how long he'd have this magic. He decided it best that he would use it sparingly and only when absolutely necessary.

He pressed forward. He needed to exercise his freedom anyways. Not just his ability to move, but his ability to live without magic and without any curses. After so much time, he was no longer cursed. He forgot what he was like before magic. The more he thought about how he was no longer cursed, the more it motivated him and with every step he became more and more at peace with himself. As he walked he wondered what felt different and then suddenly it occurred to him what it was. He no longer felt the need for power anymore. The entire time, it was the Dark One curse that made him thirst for more power. That realization gave way to clarity and what became clear was his mission. He wanted to be with his family.

At first he feared the townsfolk would recognize him, but when he looked down at his figure, there wasn't anything recognizable. He truly looked like an old wizard, beard and all. Perhaps, he figured, he could work this to his advantage. True, no one would suspect his actual identity, but his attire did stand out. He was walking around barefoot. His clothes smelled putrid. His long white hair was mangled and his tattered clothes made of burlap made him uncomfortably itchy. As unrecognizable as he was, he knew he needed to find better clothes because what he was wearing at the moment was not typical of this world. He had fallen pretty far and he chuckled over how unlike he was to his past self. From Armani suits to scratchy burlap, it amazed him how selfish and superficial he once was. He had had it all and now… here he was.

The isolated road soon led past a couple of housing developments. He needed to get out of his clothes as soon as possible. As he passed by a house he noticed a string of abandoned clothes left out to dry along with a pair of sandals lying outside the property's back door. He checked his surroundings. When he saw that the coast was clear he quickly hobbled over to the clothesline and snatched what clothes he could of what he needed along with the sandals. Not realizing what he grabbed he was thankful upon opening up the garments that the clothes were relatively close to his size. He hid behind a shed and in between a fence changed into the white t-shirt and blue jeans he just acquired. The jeans were still wet, but they would have to do for now. He threw out his old clothes and came back out onto the main street looking less conspicuous. He walked along the main road until the Storybrooke's clock tower came into view. As soon as he saw the town's building, memories came flooding back and it gave him pause. He remembered hating this town with a severe passion, but now that he was free from the Sorcerer's hat, he could think of no other place he would rather be in. This was his home. His family was here and he was relieved to be back.

* * *

 **Here we go! Another story within a story, but from Rumplestiltskin's perspective after the hat is gone. What did you guys think? As I wrote this section I found it unique in the sense that it slowed down the pace and changed a little bit of the writing style with significantly less dialogue and more internal thoughts on his end. Personally, I've always wanted to explore what it would be like to think like Rumplestiltskin, even though this is post-mind control of the Sorcerer's hat. I know we all know Rumplestiltskin to be extremely clever and super complex, but I think being a slave to The Author would tame him a little. Remember, he's had to endure countless years of The Author using his body. I think it would be enough to overwhelm anybody's senses to be suddenly in control over your own body again, if not a little disorienting. Anyways, I hope I do him justice with these next few chapters.**

 **Thank you to Grace5231973, Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma and BreathingintheSun for reading and reviewing last chapter. Shall post again soon, but until then see you next chapter!**


	17. Merlin's Story Part 2 of 5

He didn't have a plan. The journey from the town's border was simply to get his bearings. His family, he reminded himself, was his new purpose. He was there for his family.

His stomach growled. He needed food and shelter and the first place he thought of was the pink Victorian home he had given to Henry. _Surely by now he had broken the blood magic and was utilizing it already?_ Rumple tried to remember what happened after he and Belle crossed into Storybrooke. _Did they go straight to the house? Did Arthur ever use it?_ He struggled to remember. It was a long time ago. There wasn't anything of significance in the house, at least not for Arthur. Rumple couldn't think of anything in the house that would aid in the completion of the hat's transaction so he knew Arthur wouldn't be anywhere near the residence. It would be abandoned. If that was the case, then there would be food, clothing and shelter already waiting for him, or so he hoped and assumed.

Conspicuously, Rumple ducked and dodged to avoid any human interaction. He managed to not be seen as he scurried deeper into the housing developments to walk to his house. Finally, he reached a familiar street corner and his speed picked up. Was it excitement? Was it joy? Where was this energy coming from? He ran onto the property and with full force climbed the first steps. As soon as he reached the top step he was immediately repelled backwards onto the lawn.

Surprised and with the wind knocked out of him, he laid there on the grass confused. _Why didn't Henry break the spell? Why wasn't Henry using the house?_ Although he lost his breath, the momentum was still there. He got up as he struggled to breathe and waved his hands over the house disarming it. He walked closer to the door and placed his hand over the doorknob. The knob burned and cooled simultaneously, recognizing his blood and he opened the door.

He finally caught his breath and entered the house. Almost instantly, he felt like he was transported back in time. He closed the door behind him and placed the stick he was using as a crutch up against the wall. He hobbled slowly over to the staircase loving each moment as he remembered this old, but good life. He remembered their wedding night. He remembered kissing his wife as they made their way up the stairs. Rumplestiltskin ran his hand along the stairway banister and remembered stripping himself of his wedding clothes and tossing them along the banister as they both made it up to their bedroom. Rumple made it to the top of the stairs and walked down the hallway to the many rooms. Their bedroom door was closed but at the end of the hall Lily's nursery door remained open. The natural light from the nursery room bounced off of the open door and was almost like a neon sign beckoning him to come forward.

Rumple approached the old nursery room and stood within the door's threshold staring into it as he reflected. The room was barren, but in his mind it was still filled with Lily's baby things. He leaned up against the frame as he recalled the nights he spent in the nursery instead of their bedroom. He remembered being the first one to respond to Lily's cry and being the first to change and feed her. He took joy in that. _Why wasn't that enough?_ His stomach growled again. He needed to eat.

Rumple went back down to the kitchen, but knew there wouldn't be anything there. He could have conjured up food, but he needed to preserve his magic. He had been so incredibly burned by his pursuit of magic that it almost made him superstitious to use it. He needed to find money. He searched around the house and tried to recall all of the hiding spots. He checked beneath a hidden loose floorboard up against the wall in the living room and discovered a roll of bills bound in a rubber band he had left behind. Trust in his past self's own ability to see into the future to make his own luck.

… …

Evening had arrived and under the cloak of night he walked to the nearest convenient store. Thankfully, the Rabbit Hole was the choice of scenery for the town's night life versus Clark's Drug and Convenient store. Rumple quickly walked in looking for the bare essentials; toilet paper, soap, dishwashing detergent, pasta, sauce, eggs, butter, bread, coffee filters and coffee. He brought the items up to the counter and did his best to avoid eye-contact with Clark at the register. Clark eyed him suspiciously as he rung up the individual items and bagged it for him.

"Have we met before? I feel like I recognize you from somewhere…" asked Clark with a stuffed up nose, trying to make conversation. Rumple kept it brief by smiling and lied, "Perhaps. Though, I very much doubt it since my grandson is usually the one who gets my groceries for me. I decided to give him the night off."

Rumple paid Clark what was owed and left the store taking haven in the darkness once more. He made it back to the house, made dinner and ate. With the recently purchased soap bar he went directly up to their bedroom, grabbing a clean towel from within the linen closet along the way and took a long needed shower in the bedroom's bathroom. As the evening progressed he found that he couldn't sleep. After having slept for so long under the curse of the Sorcerer's hat, it was of no wonder why he felt so restless. So instead he cleaned up his meal and ventured down into the basement where he kept a small warehouse of magical items and potions. He busied himself till sunrise, perfecting and gathering enough tonic to create a youth potion for himself.

He didn't need to drink the potion just yet. Instead he held on to it along with the dagger and went out into Storybrooke to explore and remember. Without a doubt Arthur already had a plan set in place and already knew what would become of everyone. Rumple needed to remember how the hat was handed off to him long ago. Rumple needed to remember why he was doing all of this; why he was following Arthur's commands and fulfilling the Author's story. He had to remember and to figure it out in time before his family arrived and he knew of only one object that could help him remember and it was in his shop.

After eating leftovers for brunch and downing his cup of coffee, he ventured back out into town again, leaving the walking stick he had acquired behind by the coat rack. He took back-ways and alleys to get to the shop, but as he got close he noticed through the shop's window that it was still being occupied by Arthur. He couldn't enter the shop while Arthur was around. He needed to wait until he was gone. Suddenly the Storybrooke clock tower chimed, signaling that it was noon. He looked up at the clock and realized that the clock tower had an excellent view of the town from the clock's face.

Rumple walked into the open and unattended library and made his way toward the elevator. He twisted a few knobs and cranked the outer wheel to open the doors and made his way inside the contraption. Once inside, he pressed forward on a lever and was elevated to the top of the tower. The doors opened up and he climbed the metal staircase to peer through the clock-face windows. The whirring and turning of the clock's gears could be heard moving in the background as he saw perfectly before him the main vendors of Main Street; the Pawn Shop, Granny's Diner, the Bed and Breakfast, the Post office, the convenient store and the Sheriff's station.

He looked out through the clock's tower, watching and waiting for Arthur to leave and make his move, but he didn't. When no one of particular importance roamed the street, Rumple pulled out the dagger to inspect the curse that had started all of this. When he chose to go after the dagger, out of desperation he felt he had no other way to save his son. If only he could have been able to see into the future then, that he did have a choice, how might his life have been different? Would he still have his son? He wondered about his current circumstance now. Did he still have a choice? Was there even a choice? What was the choice? At first he wished he still had the ability to see into the future, but then he realized that he _could_ still see into the future. He was the future. He was that option; the option of choosing that hat. He was his own best chance at figuring out a way to save himself from Arthur's story. But if he was that option, then what was the other option? What if he didn't choose the hat? What were the risks? And how could he present that to his past self?

 _No. Stick to the plan and complete the Author's story,_ he argued with himself. He didn't like how the Author had so much power over him; dictating what it was he had to do just so he could watch himself make another horrid decision all over again. It was torture being perpetually haunted by the mistakes you've made in your past. He wasn't happy about Arthur's plan for him, but at least Arthur had a plan and it was an easy one at that; convince his past self to take the hat. It was a plan that promised his happy ending. Then why did he feel so miserable doing it? Shouldn't he feel happy? Why has the Author fated him for misery? Didn't he deserve to be happy? Didn't he deserve to be with his family? He certainly waited long enough. When does it end? How can he break the cycle?

It all just felt wrong and he felt gypped. Suddenly a curious thought popped into his head. Why did Arthur show fear when he made a threat to him about harming his daughter? If there was fear, then it was possible to change the story. Why else would the Author be afraid? If it was possible to change the story, then surely this misery could end. Right? Sure it would be easy to convince his past self to take the hat, but was it the right thing to do? Was it right to perpetually help Arthur in the taking away of his own family from himself?

His memory of the day he took on the hat came in flashes. At the time, he justified in his mind that he would see his family again just as the older Rumplestiltskin before him had and would finish out the rest of his older days with Belle and Lily and be happy. If he ran off with the Author's hat, then surely his future self would end up with Belle and Lily. Wouldn't he? Would Belle even accept him, even after all that was said and done? Could that be guaranteed? Was that what the Author had intended? Was that the Author's definition of his happy ending? As much as Rumple wanted his happy ending, he still doubted it. Was his penance in taking on the hat really worth being away from his family like that?

 _What would the repercussions of screwing up the timeline be?_ He wondered. It would certainly be one way of destroying the Author's story. However, changing the timeline would involve another self-sacrifice by means of self-destruct and Rumple wasn't sure he wanted to do that to himself or put his family through that just yet. What if… the hat never existed? If Henry never got the hat to give to his future self, then wouldn't the timeline correct itself? Wouldn't he still be living with Belle and Lily in New York? Sure he'd have no recollection of it and no way to know for sure, but wouldn't that be worth it?

He wasn't sure. All he knew was that at this moment he wanted to live long enough to see his family again and wasn't about to make any decision until that happened. Once he saw his family he would know what to do and know that it was all worth it in the end.

Every once in a while he would look down from the clock face and notice a person he recognized. He recognized Emma walking down the street with Killian by her side as they headed towards Granny's. Even from afar he could see their wedding bands glint and glimmer in the sun's light. Rumple smirked to himself over the union. He could have had that with Belle and Lily.

He watched as both Emma and Killian entered the diner and then moments later leave the diner with coffee in their hands. Emma parted ways with Killian as she crossed the street to the Pawn Shop to see her son. Rumple's eyes remained focused on the shop. He waited with bated breath to see the outcome of that interaction and wasn't surprised to see that the conversation didn't last long. It was only for about ten minutes that the door to the shop opened again. When Emma came back outside she had a confused look upon her face. Rumple knew exactly what that look was. He could tell that she definitely suspected something, but couldn't articulate what it was. She shook her head and turned down the street towards the Sheriff's station.

He waited for a few more hours, but Arthur never left. Rumple also noticed and found it curious that Arthur never slept or ate. _Did I ever eat or sleep?_ He wondered as he tried to remember what it was like being enslaved by the Author. It bothered him that he couldn't remember what being under the control of the hat was like. All the images in his mind were jumbled and foggy. He could somewhat remember being in the Enchanted Forest, saying or doing things against his will. But then there were these other images; inexplicable images. Like seeing a pair of hands. Were they his hands? They were on a keyboard typing feverishly away at a computer screen. Typing what? The image didn't make sense. Why would he be seeing that? Could it be possible that he… _saw into another world?_ _The Author's world?_

Dusk was quickly approaching and darkness had settled once again in Storybrooke. Looking down upon the main intersection in front of the library, he remembered the showdown between sisters; Zelena and Regina. He remembered sacrificing himself for his loved ones by killing himself with his father. He remembered… that it was in the library that he was handed the hat! It was here in the library! It was all slowly coming back to him. _What a fool he was to have accepted the hat!_ He thought to himself as he shook his head. Despite having just remembered where the hat was handed off to him, he still wanted the object that was in the shop.

It was getting late so he decided to call it a night. It was obvious that Arthur wasn't going to leave the Pawn Shop. He would have to come back for the item later, perhaps when Arthur left to go abduct his daughter. Suddenly, Rumple realized that Arthur would be leaving soon and that his past self would be arriving from New York shortly after. _What happened next? What did he and Belle do next when they entered Storybrooke?_ He wondered. _The shop! The Dagger's Command and then… the house._ They, his wife and past self, would soon be occupying the pink Victorian house. He needed to go back and collect things that wouldn't arouse suspicion.

He descended back down the elevator and discreetly exited the library. The night was his friend and he tried to utilize its shadows by staying close to the walls to hide his existence. Suddenly he heard someone talking in the distance. He scurried to the side wall of the closest shop next door to the library and leaned against it. The voices neared his position and he immediately recognized the woman's voice; Regina. She was… _laughing?_

"…why do you always do that?" she said to her companion as Rumple heard kissing sounds.

"Because, my adorable wife… I can."

The companion Rumple suddenly recognized was Robin Hood, kissing Regina repetitively on the nose and neck. _Wife?_ Robin and Regina finally tied the knot, extrapolated Rumplestiltskin. Rumple looked on conflicted as the amorous couple passed by him. He was happy for his old apprentice to have finally found love, but was envious for not having what they had; what he should have had all along. Storybrooke had really become a paradise, a utopia, and a safe haven for love. _Perhaps this was Camelot_ , he wondered. He wanted to believe it to be so, that there was still hope for love left for him. _Would Belle ever forgive me?_ He wanted to believe it to be possible.

Rumple crossed the street and noticed the lights in the Pawn Shop were turned off. _Did Arthur finally leave?_ Rumple walked to the front of the shop and peered in through the windows. It was vacant. He waved his hand over the front door and managed to easily get into his old shop. It was suspiciously easy, so Rumple treaded carefully. He looked at the menagerie of items that still remained in the glass cases and was amazed at how well Henry had maintained the place. As much as he struggled to remember the events that led up to his current existence, his memory of all the items in the shop were of the contrary. In fact, for each object he passed by he remembered every deal he ever made. At the revelation he realized that if he was recalling the magical properties of all the objects in the room so vividly, then his past self would surely remember them vividly as well. It was something to be noted.

Each item he saw could potentially lead his past self toward the temptation of accruing more power. If he was reminded on his lust for power it would inherently lead to his need for the hat. Perhaps that was why the shop opened up to him so easily and perhaps, this was one way for him to change the story. Rumple made a mental note to steer his past self away from the shop.

Seconds were eating away at the hour as he stood there reflecting. Every minute spent in the shop would be another risked moment at whatever Arthur had planned. He came into the shop to retrieve just one object and if this was the only moment to retrieve it then he needed to make his time here count. He quickly looked into the cases around him and on the shelves. Henry had certainly organized and changed things from the last he remembered of the place and it disoriented him for a bit. Nevertheless, everything was organized accordingly. Jewelry was placed in one section, books and papers on the shelf of a wall, lost toys on another shelf, mugs, dishes, and cups…

He gravitated towards the dishware in the glass container and found it; their chipped cup. The object he was looking for. He removed the cherished memorabilia from the case and held it delicately in his hand. He kissed it and carried it with him, cradling it like a newborn babe as he left the shop.

As soon as he arrived at the pink Victorian house, he turned on the kitchen light to examine the cup. He remembered… love and regret. His fingers lightly traced the rim of the cup until it reached the chip. How delicate, vulnerable and perfect this cup was that symbolized their love. Despite it being late in the evening he brewed himself another cup of coffee. As the coffee bubbled and simmered he continued to stare at the cup intensely. Out loud, he asked the cup as if asking Belle, "My love, _what do I do?_ "

* * *

 **Some more Future Rumple Post-Sorcerer Hat. Not much to say about this chapter other than it's more of a layered upon layered Rumple self-analysis of his situation. He regrets his decision. He misses his family. He wants his happy ending, but wants to get rid of the Author. So his visiting these places is his way of jogging his memory and hopes that by remembering he can understand and figure a way out of this complex problem. Hopefully these chapters make you believe I've captured his thought process.**

 **Thank you so much again to Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, BreathingintheSun, ladybugsmomma and Montreat11 for reviewing! Summertime seems to be hectic for all of us. I know you all are doing amazing things with your extraordinary lives outside of fanfiction, so it truly touches me to read your reviews because time is precious and you took some of your time out of your day to leave wonderful helpful thoughts. Thank you! See you next chapter!**


	18. Merlin's Story Part 3 of 5

Should he perpetuate the history he loathed so much and thus completing the Author's story? Or was there another option? Was there even a choice? Should he give in to the Author's demand and let the story play out or did he still have power left to change it? Did he really have the power to decide his own fate? Was it right to allow himself to withstand another tortuous unknown millennia of time travel to come right back here? When did it stop?

 _No!_ He argued with himself. He's been through enough torture. He deserved his happy ending and to be with the people he loved. He stared at the cup. He made a choice to take on the curse of the dagger. He made the choice to let Belle go; a choice which left him believing that he had sent her off to her death. He made the choice to take on the Sorcerer's hat. Perhaps he deserved this fate. Was part of his curse as a human being to never make the right choice?

Was he brave enough to make the right choice? He did chose this path to live as he does. Was he smart enough to understand that at every step of the way there was always a choice, no matter what we do no matter when we do it? No matter how he looked at his situation, it was either a win-win or lose-lose scenario. His past self takes the hat and he, in the future, has the chance of resuming the rest of his happy ending with his family. The Author gets what he wants and he gets what he wants... Win-win. Lose-lose... The loss would be being under the control of the Sorcerer's hat, of losing yourself and witnessing actions on your own behalf against your will, and that in the end the Author gets what he wants. Or maybe, he should allow his past self to make the choice and decide his fate. He may not be able to make the choice for his past self, but he could at least remind his past self that he still had a choice.

Rumple placed the chipped cup down on the counter and finished his cup of coffee. After placing the mug back down in the sink he meandered up to the nursery and picked out his wife's favorite book, _Beauty and the Beast._ He brought the book back down stairs and sat down on the living room couch to read it when suddenly he opened his eyes and it was daylight again. He had accidentally fallen asleep!

 _What time is it?!_ He immediately got up and frantically looked about the room for the time. 3:06 p.m. _How on Earth could I have fallen asleep in a time like this?_ He cursed himself. His wife along with his doppelganger would be arriving soon enough. He needed to get to the shop before they did. He grabbed all the belongings he could in the Victorian house and magicked himself away to the library. To his relief he saw that they hadn't arrived there yet. He looked up at the library and remembered Belle's library apartment. He scurried up the outside stairs to the building's apartment and unlocked the door with magic. He placed the few things he had down on the table and began putting away what little he had. He went to the single bedroom and opened up the armoire. When he opened up the wardrobe's doors he was surprised to see remnants of Belle's clothes along with a few extra suits that belonged to him.

He tried on one of his old suits and found that they hung just a little loose around his body. He went to the bathroom and sipped a portion of the youth potion. In an instant, he filled the Armani suit again. His white beard and moustache shrunk into his face and his hair shortened again. He didn't regain all of the color back in his hair, but it was just the right amount of grey to pass off as his past self. With the dagger close at hand he magicked himself to the library's clock tower. He moved over to the window looking down at the town and watched as he waited.

About forty-five minutes later, the familiar Cadillac arrived in front of the shop. He saw both himself and Belle step outside the vehicle and look around the town and up at the shop in wonder. After not having seen Belle for so long, the sudden sight of her radiant beauty took his breath away. Her gorgeous form unparalleled by her internal loveliness stunned him like she did on their wedding night. It would have been enough. Why didn't he see that? Why didn't he believe in that?

He stared down at himself by the shop and became entranced. There was something strange and unnatural about seeing his past self walk comfortably about with his wife. The Rumplestiltskin in the tower gazed downward at his past self with a jealous eye. It wasn't until the couple started moving toward the shop that he realized what was happening. He didn't want his past self entering the Pawn Shop to be tempted by the items within so he lifted the dagger and called to it, "Go back to your Storybrooke home."

Almost instantly, he saw both Rumplestiltskin and Belle stop in their attempt to enter the shop and walk straight back to the car. _Why was Belle following the command?_ He wondered. Then suddenly he remembered that she still shared his half-heart. As the car took off again, Rumple disappeared from the clock tower and reappeared on his neighbor's property two doors down from his Victorian house. When he saw the Cadillac turn the corner he ducked behind his neighbor's car to avoid being seen. He peeked his head over the hood of the car and watched as the events unfolded.

The first thing he saw to his surprise was Arthur stepping out of the vehicle. Rumple crouched a little further down behind the vehicle. In a flash, Arthur disappeared. Rumple exhaled a sigh of relief at the boy's disappearance when suddenly he saw Arthur directly by his side squatting next to him beside the car.

"What are you doing?" demanded Arthur in a subdued voice. At his voice, Rumple became startled and jumped at the sudden sight of him.

"My wife is here. I have to see her," Rumple said still looking over at Belle with a determined look.

"You screw this up and you won't ever see her. You won't ever get your happy ending."

" _Now_ you're concerned about my happy ending?" remarked Rumple sarcastically as he watched Belle and his past self ascend the front steps. He watched his twin enter the house and continued, "That's what I thought I was getting when I decided to take on the Sorcerer's hat. Turns out I was wrong. That's the last time I trust anything or anyone who claims to know what my happy ending is because no one, and I mean _no one decides my fate but me_." He suddenly remembered where he had heard those words before. Belle. At her father's castle. She had said it to him when they had first met. Their first deal. Even to this day the words still held their poignancy.

"Fate or not, you get that hat because that's what happens in _my_ story. Do as I say and you'll get your happy ending."

"Yeah," scoffed Rumplestiltskin, "Well, if you're so confident about your story, then why do you sound so nervous?"

"I'm not nervous," retorted Arthur quickly as his voice quivered with an upward inflection. He obviously sounded nervous. Arthur gave out a nervous cough at the implication. "Do as I say and you'll get your family back."

"All this talk about happy endings and you have not once proven to me that mine exists. Excuse me while I continue to not believe you."

"Fine, don't believe me. Just remember," Arthur replied pompously, "I still hold all the cards and that I…still have your daughter."

Rumple turned to Arthur, grabbing the front of his suit jacket and replied angrily, "Where's Lily? Where are you keeping her?"

Arthur smirked playfully at Rumple and replied as he disappeared from his grip in a cloud of smoke, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"That smarmy little…" Rumple wanted to finish the sentence with a curse, but then he saw that he and his wife had already entered the house. He got up from the car and skulked over to his property. Seeing the outfit his doppelganger chose, he waved his hands over his suit to match what he saw. Satisfied with how identical he looked to his past self, he hesitantly walked up the stairs. A shimmering magical light descended slowly upon the residence and in the nick of time he stepped inside the barrier. He peered through the glass. Undoubtedly, they were inside. His hand hovered over the door knob as he realized what a bad idea this was.

 _What am I doing?_ He thought to himself as he stopped himself from entering the house. _Risk it all just to catch one more glimpse of her… to hold her hand again? Don't be fool. She's not yours._ He turned around on the porch and stared at the street, debating with himself on how to proceed and what he was doing there. He was so eager to see Belle that he didn't think this part of the reunion through. Realizing that this was a bad idea, he went to leave when suddenly Belle was standing right in front of him.

"Rumple, are you… uh, are you done fortifying the house? Is it safe to talk now?"

Her sudden presence took him by surprise as a flood of emotions surfaced to the surface. Her beauty was so magnificent that it made him want to cry. Her eyes were crystal blue like a clear midday sky and they seemed to look through him like she was seeing into his exposed soul. Her auburn curls bounced on her shoulders as she approached him and her skin… her soft milky-white skin seemed to glow in the afternoon light. Her angelic presence made his knees shake, but he knew he had to maintain his composure… but he caved.

"Yes," he stuttered, "Yes, we're safe now." He moved forward and embraced her. He never wanted to let her go. He felt like he was touching heaven. He inhaled her floral fragrant scent and it was divine. He closed his eyes. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but couldn't. How could he ever explain what he had been through? So instead, he said the one thing that she would understand, "I love you Belle."

What happened next, he couldn't explain. Before he knew it he was kissing her on the lips. To him time stood still. It was automatic. A knee-jerk reaction. A connection of grandiose proportions. Fireworks. Explosions. The world could be falling apart and ripping itself at the seams and he just didn't care. Kissing her was right and true and felt as natural as the rising sun. What was he doing? He was losing himself. All that mattered was her savory soft rose petal lips on his. Why did he choose the hat? Why did he have to wait to be old and grey to truly appreciate this? It was at this moment that he realized that the hat just wasn't worth the power.

She pulled away from him, taken back slightly, "Woah, what's the meaning of all this?"

Arthur was right. If he showed his past self that there was an option to destroy the hat, he would never get his happy ending. But, by destroying the hat he would cease to exist and then all that time spent in slavery to the hat would have been in vain. Lose-lose. In this life, he would never see her again. He brought her hand up to the side of his face and held it there. He closed his eyes and said simply, "I just… don't ever want to make the same mistake twice and lose you too."

He could tell by the confused look on her face that she had no idea what he was talking about. It was better off that she didn't know. He kissed the inside of her palm and brought it gently down to her side. He just couldn't tear his gaze away from her. She shook her head, thinking that she misunderstood him and asked, "Do you have a plan? Are we going to find Lily?"

Did he really have a plan? Were they going to find Lily? He didn't know how but he had to believe they would. That would be his happy ending after all. "We're going to find her and we'll have her again soon enough, but for now I must apologize." He was already risking too much by interacting with her. He had to magic her to sleep. "I'm so sorry to do this to you my love…"

He would risk it all. He would risk it all just to spend more time with her and Lily. He had sacrificed his life before to save his family, so naturally he would sacrifice himself to do it again. If there was one thing he learned about himself through the Author, was that it was always in his character to be this way; to be self-sacrificing. At that moment it became clear what Rumple had to do. He had to sacrifice his happy ending to change the Author's story.

"Do what to me? What are you sorry for? I don't understand…"

He brought his hand up to her head and with the look of regret, waved it over her face. It was too soon for her to know everything just yet. She had to find out when the time was right and when they had their daughter back. Before she could finish her sentence her eyelids became extremely heavy and fell shut. She began to collapse to the floor but he gracefully caught her in time. She fell into his arms and he made sure her body never touched the ground. He hoisted her up and carried her inside the house, risking exposure to his past self. To hell with the consequences!

As he stepped further and further into the house he could hear the sound of clanking bottles and potions coming from downstairs in the basement. Fortunately for him, his past self was working on the tracking spell, so it gave him enough time to gently set her down on the couch in the living room. He knelt down beside her by the couch and held her hand within his own. He sweetly kissed her hand and whispered, "My darling Belle, I have never stopped loving you and I will always love you till my last breath."

He kissed her on the forehead and stood up, remembering her one last time before he left the house.

* * *

 **A little more dialogue and a little more romance. You'll notice that whenever he makes the right choice, it's always whenever a loved one is close by. This is not unknown knowledge amongst us Rumbellers, but it's also pivotal to my story.**

 **Thank you to Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, NatalieMosherRumbelle, BreathingintheSun, ladybugsmomma and Montreat11 for your reviews. You all are just Rock Stars to me. See you next chapter!**


	19. Merlin's Story Part 4 of 5

A tear fell from his face when he reappeared next to the town library. He entered the apartment above the library and wandered to the kitchen. He was on auto-pilot, rehashing the details of his interaction with Arthur and Belle. As he made himself spaghetti for dinner in the miniature kitchen he stewed over what he was going to do next. After putting Belle to sleep and setting her down on the living room couch he tried to think of what his past self was doing at the time. Then it occurred to him. He was trying to create the tracking spell to find Lily. But did he actually finish it? _He had to. I had to._ He thought.

He sat down and ate the meal in silence. Fortunately for him, the apartment kitchen was still fully furnished. It was minimal, but there were still pots, pans and a few plates along with some glassware. As he cleaned up the dishes he used, he tried to remember if he ever used the tracking spell. _I did use it, didn't I?_ Rumple thought to himself. He hovered over the sink as he cleaned up dinner when he realized… that he never used the spell. _Why didn't I? If I had used the spell, Lily would have been found already._ But she wasn't. So what stopped him?

Something wasn't right. Something had to have happened that prevented him from finishing the spell. The evening progressed and it was getting late. He couldn't help but feel that there was something he missed. He went through the motions in his mind, recreating the tracking spell. He thought of the limited materials he had in the basement of the house. _What happened afterwards?_

He wandered down to the library below to think, pacing up and down the quiet and lonely aisles. He ran through the list of ingredients in his mind for the tracking spell:

 _3 ounces of Rose petal juice. Dust off of a dog's nose. A sprinkle of Lilac seed oil. A worm's ear. Three drops of Dragon's tears…_

Dragon tears.

Dragon tears wouldn't be materials he would find in the basement of his house. The foreign, more dangerous and rare materials would exist in his shop. That's why he never remembered finishing the spell. The last ingredient he needed was… _in his shop!_

He rushed out of the library to look into the shop across the street. Sure enough, his past self was already roaming around the inside of the shop looking at all the items. The memory of entering his shop was coming back to him. He couldn't remember learning anything while in the shop. _Did he learn anything?_ He hoped not as his memory failed him again. He hurried inside the library and into the elevator ascending quickly to the tower. He huffed anxiously, as he viewed his shop through the tower's clock face. He looked down and thought, _all of this exhaustive effort just so he would choose the hat_. It was why Arthur made it easy for him to enter the shop; to be reminded of his power and secure his choice when tempted to take on the hat. _That damn hat._ Then suddenly it hit him; his plan to change the story. Not only did he need to not want the hat, he needed his past self to destroy it, but how?

Destroying the hat was easier said than done. He knew it was going to be difficult, like threading-the-eye-of-a-needle-from-three-feet-away difficult. How was he going to destroy the single most dangerous and powerful object he's ever known? One thing he knew for certain, slavery to someone is a curse and is never the answer to happiness. So long as the hat existed, no one could ever truly find happiness.

Arthur was very sure that no matter what universe they found themselves in, he would always choose the hat. He said so himself during his egotistical tirade. Did that also mean that there were alternate universes? Was there an alternate way for this story to play out? The mere prospect made him hopeful and it was enough to continue his plan.

 _How long had he been in there?_ Rumplestiltskin thought to himself with worry. As much as he wanted to change the Author's story, he couldn't allow his past self to be looking through the shop. Any item in there would undoubtedly inspire him to conjure alternative plans for himself and thus changing the story prematurely. If the story changed too soon then it would result in changing his current timeline. If he lost the advantage of knowing the precise moment Arthur gives up the hat, then he'd surely lose any possible chance of destroying the hat. No. Everything had to play out accordingly until Arthur gave up that hat, which meant that _that_ Rumplestiltskin had to stay away from the shop.

Rumplestiltskin lifted up the dagger and called to it, "Go back to your wife."

He felt a slight tug on the blade as if the dagger was trying to leap from his hands, but his grip on the weapon was stronger. From his view from within clock tower, he saw his past self step out from within the shop.

"I know who you are!" called out his past self from down below. "So why don't you reveal yourself already?"

It was incredibly strange to be using the dagger on himself, but it was necessary. He gripped the dagger a little bit harder and said more firmly, "Go back to your wife!"

Rumple could feel the tug-of-war in his hands. The blade started to vibrate violently and he thought he was about to lose control when suddenly he saw the Rumple from down below disappear in a cloud of smoke. He slammed the blade down on a box nearby and leaned his body up against a firm wall clutching his chest. The event might have happened years ago, but even to this day he could feel a phantom pain in his chest and it was like suffering from a heart attack. A memory he would have liked to have soon forgotten.

 _Wait a minute_ , he realized. _I remember!_

Right after this experience, he remembered passing out by Belle and then waking up by her side the following morning. He remembered that the next morning he was beckoned by the dagger again to go to… to go… to go where? Where did they go next? _Blasted! Lost again_. The moment of recollection was certainly fleeting. His old age was catching up to him as evident by the continuous memory failure.

The elevator lowered him to the library again and he paced the shadows of the Storybrooke's main street. The shop was still open. Certainly there would be something there to help him remember? There had to be. He wanted to see Belle again. Seeing Belle was what inspired him decide to change the story, but he knew he shouldn't go near her again. Perhaps he could still view her from… a crystal ball! He entered the shop and immediately began searching for Zelena's crystal ball. He wandered toward the back of the shop and dug through old cabinets and felt each shelf. Nothing. He came across another wooden cabinet in the room and pulled out each drawer. When he reached the last drawer he discovered the crystal ball cradled in a sandbag made of felt.

He lifted the object from its home and rested it on one of the work tables for better viewing. He waved his hand over the object and the ball glowed instantly. The images were cloudy at first, but after a few moments it showed Belle placing her husband on the couch. He couldn't hear what she was saying to his lifeless body, but he knew that it was something out of worry. It pained him to watch her as he saw tears fall down from her face from worry. _He doesn't deserve her_ , he thought to himself as he shook his head. _She was and always has been too good for him… for us._

 _Lily!_ He waved his hand over the crystal ball and saw his daughter in a darkened room. He waited anxiously to see if she was alright. He saw her and recognized her body, but barely. He squinted harder into the ball to see where she was, but couldn't make out her surroundings. The lifeless form he saw in the ball gave him pause, which made him fear the worse. He needed to know that she was alive. He waited with bated breath to see if she was at least breathing. He couldn't relax until he knew that much. When she inhaled deeply and saw rhythmic breathing he realized that she was just simply sleeping. He exhaled a sigh of relief. It was still too dark. He would have to wait till sunrise to determine where she was being held.

He waved his hand over the viewing glass again and an image of Arthur came into view. He was about to see what Arthur was up to when the viewing orb suddenly blurred. His magic was losing its strength. He was hemorrhaging power by keeping the orb activated. So he decided to reserve his strength for the time being and wait till morning for more light. With better light he could view his daughter again and extrapolate where she was. Once he figured out and knew where, he'd immediately direct Belle and his counterpart on where to go rescue her.

Rumple took the witch's crystal ball and placed it in its drawstring sack and carried it with him out of the shop. As soon as returned to the library he went to the apartment and placed it on the table along with the rest of his few possessions. He walked back down to the library and lit up the darkened halls by flipping on the main light switch. As the fluorescent light-bulbs flickered on slowly he made his way over to the abandoned Fairy Tale section. He slowly scanned the spines of each book, reading the titles along the way. As he passed by he recognized the stories, not because of how this world told them, but because he was in them. He knew how each story originated and they all typically involved magic or making a deal with him.

As challenging as it was to remember the most crucial events of his life, he somehow easily remembered every single deal he made. Part of him blamed his old age for his selective memory, but the other part felt like this ability to remember deals was hardwired into him. Was his inability to make the right decision hardwired into him as well? Was he a man who made his own destiny like he had at one time claimed, or was he a man powerless to an author? It felt like that was the case. It was as if his author always had it out for him from the beginning and that he was never destined to be happy. Like being the constant antagonist was his curse. It was then that he believed that his author deliberately gave him a cursed life. Why? Why would his author be so cruel?

Perhaps the author that's currently occupying Henry's body could be reasoned with. Surely Arthur would have the power to change his fate and break this cruel time-looped cycle. There had to be some loophole he could negotiate with Arthur to get out of wearing the hat. Certainly…

Rumple stopped what he was doing and froze in place as he suddenly realized.

 _The loophole… it was the one wish._

The hat was never forced upon the host against the host's will. He remembered having to write for it using the enchanted pen and paper to acquire it. His memory was coming back to him again. Before he took on the sorcerer's hat he had to wish for it. He had to write his one wish down onto the enchanted paper using the Author's pen. That was the loophole. The sword, the pen, Excalibur, was indeed the greatest weapon in all the land and it was what held the power to destroy the hat. As much as he wanted to marvel at his own revelation, he couldn't help but be angry with himself.

 _Why didn't I see that this was the other option?_ He said cursing at himself. _What happened? How did I wind up choosing the hat?_

If the first step to his plan in changing the story was to get the hat, then the second step would have to be acquiring the author's pen and paper. Then he realized something else, Arthur still had the pen and parchment. How did he come across those items to acquire the hat in the first place? Arthur came to him… no, not Arthur… Henry. Then he remembered what happened during the hat's exchange…

He caught his other self kissing his wife. He confronted Merlin and discovered that Merlin was actually himself from the future. Merlin was actually just the pen name the author used to call himself while he used his body. He told him that he would have to make a choice. At the time he didn't quite understand what that choice was, which was possibly the reason why he chose the hat in the first place, but he knew that this time things would be different. He remembered Merlin cloaking the hat and leaving the library, saying something inaudible to Belle along the way. He remembered Henry arriving just in time, asking him if there was a way to destroy the hat. Being stubborn as he was, he argued saying that taking on the hat was the only way to ensure his happy ending. He remembered placing his hat on his head and then… fog.

One moment he was in Storybrooke, the next he was somewhere else. While he was Merlin he caught glimpses of what Merlin was doing with his body through his own eyes, but it was all like a distorted dream. It was like an out of body experience, but within his own body. When Merlin slept, Rumple dreamt of staring down at a computer screen for hours on end. On the computer screen he read the events that had just happened from the previous day. That was the torture. Not just experiencing your slavery, but reading about it in your sleep…

His whole reflection on what it was like to be under the control of the hat was sobering and it was what motivated him to keep pushing forward.

Without a complete plan set in place he couldn't sleep. However, for preventive measures and to avoid accidentally falling asleep like he did last time, he insisted on standing while he read. With his insomnia, he perused through a few books to pass the time. He came across the story of _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_ and suddenly was reminded of Mary-Margaret's and David's involvement in the acquisition of the hat. They were still in town. They were there when they found their children together. It was coming back to him. He smiled to himself as an idea was formed in his head. He had a plan. He knew exactly what to do.

* * *

 **Sorry for the belated posting! I had to work this weekend and there was an event that prevented me from reaching my computer in time for my typical Sunday posting. So here it is! It's getting exciting, eh?**

 **A quick shout-out and thank you's to ladybugsmomma, Grace5231973, Imusicluver23, Montreat11 and BreathingintheSun for reviewing. xoxoxoxoxo  
**


	20. Merlin's Story Part 5 of 5

The sun began to rise but he waited until it was a little bit lighter to see Lily more clearly through the crystal ball. He went back up to the apartment above the library and grabbed the crystal ball placing it in a drawstring felt sack. He went back downstairs bringing the dagger and ball with him and peaked outside the library doors. While doing his best to remain hidden from sight, he looked around the intersection until he found what it was that he was looking for... David's truck. The truck had just pulled up on the side of the road and he watched as both David and Mary-Margaret ran quickly into the diner.

It was still fairly early in the morning, so the main street was fortunately still barren. As quickly as he could, he left the library. He dashed across the street and approached David's vehicle where a blue tarp held down by bungee cords covered the bed of his truck. Beneath the tarp, he dove into the back of David's truck and hid amongst the menagerie of other items that were there. It wasn't going to be a comfortable ride, but at least he knew it was going to be a short one. With his weak magic, he couldn't travel far and with the day only getting brighter someone was bound to recognize him. He needed to get as close to the hat as possible and he knew that David's truck would eventually get him close enough. He just couldn't afford to be seen prematurely.

He settled in as quickly as he could and laid there tangled next to furniture and other odd ends. As uncomfortable as he was juxtaposed next to fixtures and equipment, he did his best to avoid movement. The last thing he needed was to arouse suspicion. He waited patiently and listened. Just a minute or two later he heard footsteps leave the diner and then quickly run across the street. He waited a few more moments and then he heard the couple enter the vehicle and the truck roared to life, taking off in the direction where they needed to go. When the vehicle parked, he heard the two side doors open and close. While still beneath the tarp he pulled out the crystal ball.

He waved his hand over the viewing orb and gazed into its contents. Lily was no longer asleep. She was walking in the woods with a little boy. He didn't recognize the boy at first but knew who he had to be. He felt the crystal ball and with a gesture of his hand he adjusted the viewing position and was able to see exactly where they were. In the ball he saw through the woods the clock tower and at the end of the town's main street was the edge of the woods.

He pulled the dagger out from his suit jacket and called to it, "Main Street. Edge of town. Forest."

At any moment he knew that Belle and his doppelganger would be arriving. He stuffed the crystal ball back into its sack and got out from the back bed of David's truck. He immediately ducked behind the vehicle to keep out of view as he scanned about his surroundings for other structures to hide behind. Although the other cars in the parking lot guised his presence well, he needed to get closer. Just as Belle and the other Rumplestiltskin arrived to the forest's edge he found a large oak tree nearby which was the perfect spot to hide behind. Not only was the tree large enough, it was positioned with a good viewing spot. In a blink of an eye, he magicked the short distance there and curled himself around the tree. He turned his body around and peeked beyond the tree watching the events as they unfolded before him.

It was incredibly strange watching history repeat itself as he saw his daughter run into her mother's arms. Two more magical clouds appeared and Regina and Emma were suddenly part of the reunion. He could barely make out the conversations that were taking place, but he knew exactly what was happening. He waited some more then suddenly Arthur appeared directly behind everyone. Like on cue, a piercing scream erupted from Lily and although he expected it, the sound still gave him goosebumps. His paternal instinct made him want to go up to the source of his daughter's fear and rip the hat off Arthur himself, however he knew he had to be patient. The hat would be off of him soon.

Arthur began his story-telling. He sighed in frustration and watched as his past self did the exact same thing. Henry's family watched and listened as Arthur rehashed the events that occurred to Henry during the seven missing years leading to the discovery of the hat. His back began to ache as he leaned against the tree waiting for his moment, the one small window of opportunity. One thing was for certain, this author was incredibly long-winded. He seemed to ramble on for eternity until finally he finished his tale. When the other family members began contributing more to the dialogue he knew that his moment would be coming up soon. So he remained vigilant. Everything that was about to happen he knew was going to happen quickly.

From the tree, he watched as Arthur moved about the group. Like a snake in the grass, Arthur walked about his family flaunting his arrogance and it was enough to make his skin want to crawl. He could see from a distance Arthur restoring both his and Belle's hearts as they both fell to the ground. He stood by helplessly next to the tree as he watched the slimy Arthur move in closer to his daughter. Suddenly, the Rumplestiltskin within the group formed a giant fireball in his hands which caused the rest of the members to quiver and shout. He could hear Arthur's shouting, " _See Lily?! Didn't I tell you?! The stories are true. Your father is the Beast!_ "

One moment Lily was clutching her mother's leg, the next she was gone and had disappeared. The family began looking to Arthur for answers and Arthur redirected them to Neal. The family turned to Neal and Neal quickly disappeared as well. Emma and the Charmings immediately left the group to go searching for the boy, which left Belle, Rumplestiltskin and Regina to deal with Arthur.

This was it! This was the moment he was waiting for. Arthur finally raised his hands above his head and removed the hat. As soon as he sat the exposed hat down on the ground before the Rumplestiltskin there, Henry collapsed to the ground and became unconscious, just as he had done at the castle. A worried Regina rushed over to Henry to cradle her son's body, shouting his name. It wasn't until he heard Belle's voice say, "Rumple! Don't!" that he finally stepped out from behind the tree and casted a freezing charm on the few individuals.

He moved in as quickly as he could because he knew that the charm wouldn't last forever. As tempting as it was he didn't have time to gawk at the frozen individuals. He came forward for one thing and one thing only… the hat. He plucked it from the ground and held the powerful object in his hands. Just by feeling the object in his hands he could feel magic surge through his body again and he immediately disappeared from the edge of the woods. When he reappeared he was inside the library again. He was half-expecting to reappear at a shorter distance, but perhaps the hat was so powerful that merely touching it enhanced his own magic. That fact alone was enough to convince him that what he was doing was the right thing. The hat was simply too powerful and dangerous for anybody to have, even himself.

He folded up the hat and placed it inside his coat, when suddenly he heard some scuffling within the library.

"Lily! Pssst! Lily!" a little boy's voice whispered in the library, disrupting Rumple's thoughts. Rumple looked around the library and hid behind a wall of books. Through the gaps of the shelves he looked for the child and listened closely.

"Go away!" commanded Lily to Neal as she sat in a dark nook covering the sides of her face with her hands in shock.

"I know you're scared but… but I'm scared too! But you know what? I know of a secret place. I go to it whenever I'm scared. No one knows about it or ever goes to it but me. It's safe and you can come with me. Do you trust me?" Neal called to his daughter. Lily remained quiet, still very frightened and stunned by what she just witnessed and learned about her own father. "I said, _do you trust me?_ " Neal called again to her.

"I don't even know what this place is! I don't even know how I got here," stated Lily who seemed overall disoriented.

"Well I know what this place is and I know how you got here. That answer is very simple."

"Arthur was right. My father… this whole time. Why have my parents been lying to me? My mother is… my father is a… is truly a…" whimpered Lily incoherently, unable to finish a thought. She couldn't brave finishing her sentence with the word _beast_.

Her parents were fairy tale characters. Her parents came from a world of magic and a place where fairy tales were born. She was magical! And in a world without magic she found herself in the one small town filled with magic and that place was called Storybrooke. How was this all even possible? Lily couldn't comprehend the truth. It was all still too much for her. She wanted to go home. She wanted to wake up from this dream or nightmare she found herself in and have her parents calm her down. She wanted her parents to tell her it was all a dream. She wanted her mother to hold her and her father to tell her that everything was going to be alright and that she had nothing to fear.

"Let me protect you. I can protect you," said Neal valiantly to his young friend breaking up her train of thought as he extended his hand to her.

"How? How are you going to protect me?" cried Lily.

"Magic."

In the library Rumple heard hesitative silence followed shortly after by some scuffled movements. The young pair left the library and from a short distance Rumple watched as he followed after the children. They hadn't gone too far as he noticed them ascending the stairs to the apartment above the library. He smiled to himself as the door quickly closed in front of him. He hesitated for a moment and stood there in front of the door collecting his thoughts. What would he even say? Should he even interact? Would this affect the timeline at all?

An overpowering urge moved him forward. It was the same compulsion that led him to the unintended interaction of his wife on the front porch. He desperately wanted to see and hold his daughter again. _Screw it!_ If this was going to be his last moments he wanted to at least hold his own daughter one last time. He turned the knob, not knowing what to expect of the interaction. He opened the door and was greeted by two very startled children.

"Papa?!" cried Lily.

"S-s-stop!" said Neal as he stood up and placed himself bravely and protectively between Lily and her father. "I-I-I know wh-who you are and I know of your magic! You don't frighten me!"

Rumplestiltskin said nothing but smiled gently. It was evident by Neal's stutter that he was obviously scared to death, but he held up both his hands anyways to perform whatever magic necessary to protect them both. Rumple couldn't help but admire Neal's outstanding bravery despite how futile and endearing the little boy's efforts were. Rumple slowly closed the door behind him and drew a slow breath to speak.

"I'm sorry," Rumple began slowly, looking over at his frightened daughter who was sitting curled up on the bed, "for frightening you earlier. It was never my intention to do that."

Rumple took a step forward toward Lily but Neal stood before him blocking his path. The little boy's arms trembled, unsure as to how he was going to stop the greatest wizard of all time from frightening his friend.

"Neal… It _is_ Neal, isn't it?" asked Rumple curiously, as he pointed non-threateningly at the frightened boy. The name brought back so many memories and it immediately made him think of his son, Baelfire. He thought of Baelfire's strength in resolve and courage in doing the right thing. He thought of the extreme lengths it took to see him again. He thought of the story that led to this Neal acquiring his son's honorable name. "You know you represent your name very well and are living up to the name quite honorably."

"My… _my name_?" questioned Neal, baffled by the conversation's unexpected turn.

"Your parents would be very proud of you if they knew of the bravery you're exhibiting right now. I'm not surprised, though. Courage is a common trait your family shares."

Neal never felt brave like any of his family. He always felt overshadowed by their notoriety. Not that he wanted to stand out. He never wanted to make waves and always wanted to do the right thing. To make his parents proud of him was something he only wished for. So it was at Rumplestiltskin's kind words that Neal began to tear up and lower his hands. Neal whimpered, "They would be proud of me?"

"Did your parents ever tell you how you came to be named?" asked Rumplestiltskin to Neal as he took another step into the apartment.

"No," said Neal as he shook his head. "I was only told that I was named after a hero."

"It's true. You were named after a hero, but Neal… he was so much more than that. I'm going to tell you a little story," said Rumplestiltskin as he pulled up a chair from the kitchen table and sat down in it. "…and hopefully it will answer many of the questions I'm sure you have."

From where he sat he could see both Lily and Neal watching his every move listening ever so intently. By sitting down, he wanted to seem approachable and less intimidating. The two children were already scared and Rumple's soft spot for children compelled him to remain calm. He had hoped that by exhibiting his relaxed demeanor he would alleviate the children's anxieties. So he spoke slowly and clearly, being as truthful as possible.

"Once upon a time many, many years ago, in the Enchanted Forest there was a man named, Rumplestiltskin. I was once married to a woman named Milah and we had a son named Baelfire. I went to war, but as soon as I found out about Baelfire I returned home and did so by injuring myself. I was forever brandished as the village coward and that was the price for abandoning the frontlines. That was how I truly injured my ankle sweetheart. But here, with magic, I can heal myself instantly."

"So," interrupted Lily, "I… I have an older brother?"

"You _did_..." trailed off Rumplestiltskin as he mournfully reflected his son's passing.

Lily came forward a little bit from where she sat on the mattress and sat closer to the edge of the bed. Rumplestiltskin continued, "Milah, Baelfire's mother, left the two us to be with a pirate named Killian Jones."

"Hey… that's, that's Emma's husband!" pointed out Neal, recognizing the name.

"Indeed," Rumple confirmed patiently. "When Baelfire came of age, I was powerless to protect him from enlisting in the ogre's war. So I happened upon information about the Dark One dagger. With the Dark One's power I knew I would be able to stop any war. I needed it so that I could save my son. So I did. I became the Dark One and stopped the war, but Baelfire wasn't happy. Because of my notoriety, he was friendless. He wanted to go and live in a world without magic. So he acquired a rare magical bean from a blue fairy, telling him that it was capable of taking him to any world even… to worlds without magic. Baelfire wanted us to go. I didn't want to go because I was too enamored by the Dark One's power. He used the bean and as I held him over the swirling portal I thought selfishly about my power. And because of my foolishness and cowardice, I let go of my son's hand and he fell through the portal alone. Baelfire was fatherless. Even to this day, I never forgave myself. So it was then that I was determined to find him. He needed to know that I was sorry and that I loved him. As I said, magic beans were hard to come by and even with all my power I still couldn't find him. I went down many, many paths until I came across a curse that would bring me to the land that he had escaped to."

"Here," stated Lily.

"To Storybrooke?" asked Neal.

"Storybrooke is more like… a world within a world. It only exists here because of a curse; a curse that was cast by a woman named Regina."

"Regina is Emma's friend," claimed Neal.

"They weren't always friends," countered Rumplestiltskin. "Regina use to be known as 'The Evil Queen' back in the Enchanted Forest. It was partly my fault that she became that way. I needed her to cast the Dark curse so that I could be reunited with Baelfire again. That's how far I was willing to go to be with my son again. So I trained Regina and taught her magic. Enough so that she could properly cast the Dark Curse herself. So to pass the time, I made deals; many deals. And that was what I was known to do throughout all the realms.

"One of the best deals I made was with a king whose kingdom was overrun by ogres. In exchange for saving his kingdom, I wanted his princess to become my castle's caretaker. The king was reluctant and refused, but then the princess stepped up and volunteered, sacrificing her freedom for the safety of her kingdom and loved ones. The deal had been struck and that princess's name… was Belle."

"Mummy!" exclaimed Lily, making the connection and recognizing the person.

Rumple smiled over the reflection and concurred, "That was your mother… brave and beautiful. A hero. She broke my Dark One curse with our first True Love's kiss, but I was determined to find my son and I needed magic to get back to him. So I forced my curse to remain unbroken and I had sent my true love away… so I could find my first true love… my son."

The story became sad again as Rumplestiltskin continued, "It only motivated me to push Regina harder. I needed Regina to want to cast the curse, but in order to enact it she needed to sacrifice the heart of the thing she loved most. At the time, she was going through a blood feud with your parents," he said looking over at Neal, "Snow White and Prince Charming, who thwarted every move she ever attempted. Regina had even threatened them with the Dark Curse which led your parents to come to me for help. I told your mother, who was pregnant with your sister, that when Emma turned twenty-eight she would be the one to break the curse in this new land.

"The night your older sister was born, Regina enacted the Dark Curse. Your parents sent Emma through a portal to escape it, believing that she would return to save them. That's how Emma became known as the Savior. The Curse did as it was made to be; it brought all of the creatures out of the Enchanted Forest and brought them to the Land Without Magic… here… Storybrooke. And it was here that for the next twenty-eight years time stood still and nobody aged.

"Now Baelfire, he was still a teenager when he fell through the portal. He had lived in this world without magic alone. He came across Peter Pan's shadow which brought him to Neverland. Time stood still for him there as well, surviving centuries that passed in the Enchanted Forest as well as the Land Without Magic. Somehow, Baelfire left Neverland and returned to the Land Without Magic and it was there that Baelfire grew up and renamed himself Neal."

"Baelfire was… _Neal_? Neal is Baelfire! That's who I'm named after?" asked Neal, finally making the connection.

"Yes," confirmed Rumplestiltskin as he looked over at Lily. It was obvious by her hardened face that she was still grappling with the news. It was a lot to take in.

Despite her own personal feelings over the matter, she still wanted to know more so she encouraged her father to keep going with the tale, "Keep going, Papa. I want to know more."

He nodded to his daughter and continued, "Neal returned to _this_ world and somehow came across Emma's path. Sometime during their correspondence they had fallen in love with each other. When Emma was eighteen, Neal left her not knowing that she was pregnant with Henry. Emma gave up Henry for adoption while Emma was incarcerated thinking at the time that she wouldn't be a suitable mother. Meanwhile, the Dark Curse had been enacted making Storybrooke, Maine the only place where time stood still.

"Part of the Dark Curse involved memory loss. Nobody knew of their pasts from the Enchanted Forest, except for the caster, Regina. But Regina still wasn't satisfied. The Dark Curse left a hole in her heart. It was then that Fate's hand guided Regina to adopt Henry. Ten years later, Henry leaves Storybrooke to find his birth mother, Emma in Boston. Henry convinces her to leave Boston and she finally breaks the curse that had engulfed Storybrooke for twenty-eight years. Not a moment after the curse was broken, I used the power of True Love to bring back magic to Storybrooke. Unfortunately, even magic has its limits and so its boundaries are only limited to that of Storybrooke's borders. That is why magic only exists here.

"With the curse broken, memories restored, and magic back it was time for me to be reunited with my loved ones. I was first reunited with Belle and then I resumed my search for Baelfire. I made the necessary preparations to leave, bringing Emma and Henry along to guide me. When we discovered Baelfire he was no longer the little boy I knew. He was a man named Neal. And it was then during our reunion that we discovered how extended our family tree really was.

"Neal did eventually come back to Storybrooke with Emma, Henry and myself. But nothing was happily ever after. A witch came to Storybrooke and threatened the town, cursing our memories again. Neal sacrificed his life so that we could find out who the witch was. By the time you were born, Neal, my son had already passed away, sacrificing himself so that we could save this town and ourselves."

" _So_ … Baelfire, I mean, Neal was my older brother," reiterated Lily.

"He was."

"Why would you keep that from me?" Lily asked angrily towards her father. "Why not tell me about Storybrooke?"

"Lily… my dear," Rumple said as he got up and sat down next to his daughter on the bed, "because your father is not a very nice man who still makes bad choices. And unfortunately, those choices were often times influenced by magic… Dark Magic. The Dark One curse made me crave for power… for more _magic_. That's why we left Storybrooke because this place still has magic. So long as I stayed, I would be doomed to make poor choices. I never wanted you to see that side of me… that beastly side. That is why, in your mother's favorite story, I'm portrayed as the Beast."

"My nephew, I mean, Henry… he has the power to take Storybrooke's magic away. Why leave your family?" wondered Neal.

"But you see? I _did_ leave with my family," corrected Rumplestiltskin, looking over at Neal. "Once your mother and I had you," he said redirecting his comment over at Lily, "we knew it to be in the best interest of everyone, this town… our family… that we no longer involved ourselves in the business of magic. It was once Baelfire's wish for us to live in the Land Without Magic and so it felt only right to finally fulfill it."

Lily took a minute to process her father's story, staring at the ground to concentrate.

"So wait…" Neal began, "Neal is… Henry's father, but he is also your son. That's why Henry called you grandfather."

"Correct," nodded Rumplestiltskin.

The news was mind-blowing to Neal as he replied with a stunned, "Woah."

"Papa…," Lily began hesitantly. It grabbed his attention as she continued, "why is Henry calling himself Arthur?"

Rumplestiltskin sighed and calmly replied, "That… is an excellent question, my dear. Henry, found a way back to the Enchanted Forest where he became possessed by a Sorcerer's hat. Once Henry put on the hat, he was no longer himself."

"But Papa, when Arthur held me captive in the cabin, he wasn't bad. He never harmed me."

"And let us hope that you never have to be put in that position again," he said as he gently brushed his daughter's face with the back of his fingers. She looked up into her father's eyes and suddenly hugged him. "I'm so sorry I frightened you earlier, sweetheart," apologized Rumplestiltskin. "It was never in my or your mother's intention for you to find out this way. This was a lot to take in, I know. But you know what? Arthur was right about one thing," he said as he pulled away from his daughter's embrace to look her in the eye, "you are truly special and I would alter the universe for you if I could."

"I know you would, Papa," she said as she buried her face again into his chest.

He closed his eyes as he bent forward, kissing the top of her head. "My girl," he said as he rested his head on hers, "I love you very much."

"I know you do, Papa, and I love you too."

After a moment of reconciliation, Rumplestiltskin pulled away from his daughter and looked over at Neal. "Sir," he said addressing the young boy formally, "if you would be so kind as to watch over my daughter for a little while longer. I have some business to attend to downstairs in the library."

"What's going on downstairs in the library?" Neal asked.

Rumplestiltskin got up from the bed and made his way to exit the small apartment, "I have to go and make a dangerous choice."

He left the children in the small studio apartment by themselves and made his way back down the stairs to the library. He withdrew the Sorcerer's hat from his coat jacket and placed it behind the circulation desk just out of view of the front doors. He lifted the sack that dangled at his side and pulled out the witch's orb. In his left hand he held the orb and waved his right hand over it. As he gazed into the crystal ball he was surprised to see that Belle and the others were still frozen in place. As timing would have it, his magic did wear off and they suddenly started moving again. He saw his doppelganger look confused and watched as Belle rushed up to confront him about it.

He then pulled out the dagger from his coat and called to it, "Go to the edge of town."

He waited. He waited for Belle to come to him as he knew she would. Hopefully she would understand. Hopefully he would understand. He took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled out. The ending was nigh and he could feel it in his bones. As expected, the library doors opened and he was confronted, yet again, by the most beautiful person in the world…

* * *

 **Thus endeth the story within a story of Future Rumplestiltskin's point of view. Next chapter we will be resuming where this story left off five chapters ago, after the two Rumplestiltskins and Belle meet trying to understand what is going on. But in regards to this chapter, let me know what you guys thought about it!**

 **And thank you to Montreat11, Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, NatalieMosherRumbelle and ladybugsmomma for reviewing last chapter! The story isn't over yet. So sit tight. Another twist is about to come!**


	21. The Choice

… _ **Present Day… Present Moment … Storybrooke Library…**_

"The Author can travel through time as well as different realms and I thought," explained Merlin as he struggled to stand up on his own. He could still feel the pain in his back from when Gold's magic slammed him against the wall. In all honesty, he should have known this would happen to him, especially since he was from the future and had done the exact same thing from his past to protect Belle. As he straightened his spine and stretched his back he continued his thought, "that by wearing the Sorcerer's hat I was ridding myself of the Dark One curse. I thought that by attaining the hat, I could still keep my magic no matter the realm. I didn't think that I'd be simply trading one master for another."

"If you're still here, then how come the universe isn't… I don't know, imploding?" wondered Belle.

"This is when I'm supposed to convince him to take the hat," Merlin said pointing to his younger self.

"But if you're still here," Gold wondered with the look of utter befuddlement, "then I've already made the choice to take the hat. What exactly _is_ the point of this reunion? And what happens to you when I take the hat?"

"To be honest, I don't know what happens to me. When I was in your exact shoes, I remember my future self telling me I had a choice and then he walked straight out those library doors. Assuming I'm still alive after all is said and done, all that's left for me is my happy ending. That means you, Belle."

"Me?" Belle replied nervously.

"Family means everything to me. You, Lily, Henry… Not too long ago, I realized that my happy ending is with my family. That is," he said while looking humbly over at Belle, "if you are still willing to have me." He shamefully looked down at the ground, unable to look her in the face for fear of rejection. He knew it was an awkward suggestion to even imply, especially since his younger self was standing right there watching the whole exchange. He knew it would undoubtedly take time for either one of them to get to that point of reconciliation. But when it came down to family, he would wait forever for them. He looked up at her and apologized, "My dear, I'm so sorry it took lifetimes to see the merit of your wisdom."

"That was you! You are telling the truth," pointed out Belle, recognizing the apologetic tone. It was her husband from the future that wore that youthful disguise. He was the one that had greeted her when they first arrived to Storybrooke at their home on the porch. His tears that she saw were from years, centuries, possibly millennia of having been separated from her and trapped by the Sorcerer's hat. The brief bittersweet kiss that they shared on the front porch was remorse for having never been able to feel his true love's touch and to prevent her from being frightened of him and for the sake of her sanity he had to put her to sleep. It all became clear to Belle as she continued, "You were the one on the porch. It wasn't a dream.

"Indeed. Brilliant as you are beautiful," Merlin replied with a soft gentle smile. He looked down nervously and said as he looked up at her, "Obviously, I never stopped loving you or Lily. I'm sorry if I had frightened you earlier. I just had to see you again." Merlin paused briefly to breathe and realized that he had used the dagger to send his counterpart away. What was curious was where he knew to find them, so he turned to look over at Gold and asked, "I had just sent you to the edge of town. How _did_ you know where to find us?"

Gold scoffed, "It was quite simple, actually. In Arthur's tale on how he acquired the hat, he conveniently omitted what happened to you. When I felt the dagger's pull to go to the edge of town and saw that Arthur didn't have it, well… it only confirmed my suspicions. So as soon as I arrived to Storybrooke's border and saw nobody there, I knew I had to come to the library. It's the only place I knew my wife would ever go to for refuge."

"Of course," Merlin chuckled to himself as he realized his own cleverness. He sipped the last little bit of the youth potion and instantly transformed back into a calmer, gentler and more subdued version of the Rumplestiltskin standing across from him. He placed the empty potion bottle on the circulation desk's counter next to the dagger which was already there. He then revealed the Sorcerer's hat, which was hiding just behind the counter and placed it deliberately next to the dagger. After making it obvious that he had the hat, Merlin waved his hand over the Sorcerer's hat and the hat became invisible.

" _You_ took the hat?" Belle asked, wondering what he was doing.

"I did, that much I do remember of my past self," acknowledged Merlin.

"Why show the hat to us now and then hide it? Why didn't you just let me take the hat when Arthur first offered it to me?" Gold asked Merlin.

"I took the hat away from you because I wanted to warn you with as minimal interaction with other people as possible. I hid the hat to warn you because you needed to know that you had a choice. That hat," Merlin said as he pointed to the void where the hat once sat, "is far too dangerous to be in anyone else's hands but my own. I suppose after having worn it for some time, I feel partly responsible for it," said Merlin. He looked up and came over to Belle, leaving all the dangerous and powerful items behind. He cupped her face and gazed at her longingly, as if trying to burn the image into his mind. "When you're ready to have me, I'll be waiting for you."

Rumplestiltskin stared at the items on the desk and looked over at Merlin who was on his way out the door. Wary and skeptical of what Merlin was doing leaving the dangerous items exposed like that he asked just before he left, "Just like that, you're just going to leave these dangerous magical items behind and not tell me what I need to do?"

"I am, actually. I've already said too much. Besides, I know you and since _I am_ you I know what motivates you to make the right choice. Don't worry, you'll figure it out. You have what you need to know what to do," Merlin said while looking over at Belle, "Just remember, that when you decide… you decide for all of us."

Gold looked at Merlin quizzically as his future self walked out the library doors. He had so many questions. What did he mean by that? What was he implying? What was the choice? Merlin was here and that meant he made the choice to take the hat. It wasn't a choice, more like an eventuality. Wasn't it? No matter what he was going to do he was going to choose that hat. And that power… that infinite power…

The temptation was insatiable and his will to even consider the other option his counterpart warned him about became obsolete.

 _I could manipulate time_ , Gold reasoned. _I could come back to this world whenever I desired. I could negotiate with the Author and convince him that my intentions with that power are noble._ But there was only one problem, Merlin made the hat disappear before Gold could take the hat. How was he going to acquire the hat?

Just then, the library doors burst open and Henry ran up to his grandfather out of breath. "Grandpa! We've got to destroy the hat! It's the only way!"

"How?" questioned Belle. "Merlin made it disappear."

"Merlin? He's here?! Don't trust him!" exclaimed Henry.

"Henry," said Belle coming closer to Henry and placing a concerned hand on his arm. She shook her head. It wasn't important for Henry to know Merlin's true identity at the moment. Knowing how to destroy the hat was much more important. No one should have that much power at the price of enslavement. "How do we destroy the hat?"

"Excalibur and the Grail, I mean, the Author's pen the paper," stated Henry as he corrected himself.

"What do you mean?" Gold asked.

"The pen," Henry said as he pulled it out from within the depths of his coat pocket, "It doesn't work for me. I already tried to destroy the hat by wishing it away, but I'm not the next intended host. It's you, Grandpa."

"Me?"

"You make one request, here," Henry said as he pulled out the enchanted parchment and pen and placed it on circulation desk next to the exposed Dark One dagger. "You have one wish before taking on the hat. The hat is never forced onto the host. It's the Author's way of allowing you one last act of free will before you lose all of your freedom. When I had the pen, I wished to take the Sorcerer's hat because I thought that by taking on the power I could find and give everyone's happy endings. But you… you can wish to destroy the hat!" explained Henry.

"Belle," Gold said turning to his wife. Gold felt guilty and sounded like he was justifying his inevitable actions, "You saw Merlin. He exists because I choose the hat! If I destroy the hat, the time loop will be broken and there's no telling what will become of us. There's no other cho-"

"Papa?" interrupted Lily. She stood behind her father and everyone turned to see the little girl standing bravely before them. There was no telling how long she had been standing there or when she had arrived, but there she was. Lily looked at Henry suspiciously and moved skittishly around him as she ran quickly into the safety and comfort of her parents.

"Lily!" yelled Belle as she lifted her daughter into her arms.

Lily looked to her father from her mother's arms and asked, "Papa, why did you leave Neal and me? What's the dangerous choice you have to make?"

 _Leaving… Neal... Abandonment._ Hearing the name and the word 'leave' in that combination struck a chord with Rumplestiltskin and it made him immediately think of Baelfire. He thought of the green swirling portal. He remembered the painful memory of giving up his son for magic. His own child. But his other child, Lily, remains and she was standing right there in front of him. He still had a chance to do right by her. Gold stood there dumbfounded as it suddenly occurred to him, he was standing at the same crossroads with his daughter like he once was with Baelfire. He was staring at his second chance.

Merlin never mentioned their daughter arriving when he took the hat. Did this happen to Merlin, his future self? And if so, then why would he neglect to share this important detail? Something changed within Rumplestiltskin as he saw his family there together. Henry… Belle… and Lily. Why did he want the power in the first place? He wanted the power to use it outside of Storybrooke because magic made him happy… but _did_ magic make him happy? It seemed to have caused only problems. Was magic really his happy ending? Arthur was right about one thing, he never believed in his happy ending. Time and experience had proven that. But then again, what was his happy ending? What did it even look like? All he knew was that everything and anything significant he had ever done with his life was out of his love for his family and that being with his family was what made him happy. Perhaps, he speculated, wherever his family was, that's where his happy ending was too. With his happy ending standing in front of him, it made him realize that choosing the hat was superfluous. His family stood before him nervously and waited with bated breath for his answer.

On two occasions he had sacrificed his power for his family. He saved his family when he killed himself to kill Peter Pan, and when he tossed the Dark One dagger to Zelena to prolong Neal's life. Those memories, as painful as they were, weren't just reminders of his failings in his quest for power, but evidence that he _could_ choose his family over power. He knew he could make the choice because he had done it before. That was the choice. And with the evidence surmounting before him, he knew what he had to do.

"Lily…" Gold began to say as he took the pen from Henry.

"Yes, Papa?"

"The dangerous choice is choosing whether or not to allow people or things dictate your happiness. Everyone wants to believe and trust that the penholder to our stories has our happy endings in mind. It's dangerous because once you believe in that you're doomed for disappointment and misery. Life just doesn't work that way. I used to believe that magic would make me happy, but it actually doesn't. Time and time again happiness has proven to be the price at having magic. Seeing Henry, you… your mother," he said as he glanced over at Belle, "made me realize that."

"Well, who decides your happiness, then?" Lily asked innocently.

"No one can define your happiness but yourself. Only you can make your own happiness, and for the first time, I now know that being with my family… is my happy ending."

Gold turned to the parchment on the counter and wrote quickly,

" _Rumplestiltskin destroys the Sorcerer's hat and everyone's happy ending is restored."_

In a blinding light, everyone disappeared into nothingness.

… …

… _**New York City…**_

Lily woke up suddenly in pool of her own cool sweat. Was that all a dream? It all felt too real for it to be a dream. It felt like a nightmare. She was kidnapped to a place called Storybrooke. Magic existed there. Her parents were there. There were all sorts of fairytale characters present as well. Her parents are fairy tale characters. She is magical. She remembered something about a time loop and her father making a grave choice. Scared at the sudden insight, she leapt out of her bed and ran straight toward her parents' bedroom. "Mama! Papa!" Lily cried out into the darkness.

Rumplestiltskin turned on the lamp that was by his side of the bed and with squinted eyes scanned the room for his daughter. In a groggy voice he called to his daughter, "What's wrong sweetheart?"

Lily didn't say a word as she immediately hopped onto her parent's bed. She quickly dove between her parents and tucked herself beneath their covers. Her silence scared Belle as she said to her daughter, "Honey, was it a nightmare? What happened? Say something."

Lily remained silent. How could she explain what she just saw from her dream? Or was it a nightmare? A vision? Belle felt her daughter's head and became alarmed, "She's clammy." Lily began shaking beneath the sheets. "Rumple, she's trembling!"

"Darling, what was the dream about? Can you talk about it?" he asked as he tucked his daughter's sweaty hair behind her ears.

Lily didn't want to think about the dream. She wanted to sleep by her parents and not have to think about it at all.

* * *

 **Posted a day early because I knew I wouldn't have a chance to post on Sunday. So here it is. What did you think of my twist at the end? I'm eager to hear what you guys think.**

 **I'm getting close to writing the end of this story and when I'm done, I intend on just posting as soon as I am able to edit them. As I look back at what I've written I am actually quite amazed by it all. It's been one heck of a ride, if I do say so myself and I have you to thank for supporting me along the way.**

 **Speaking of which… Thank you Imusicluver23, NatalieMosherRumbelle, ladybugsmomma, Grace5231973, BreathingintheSun and Montreat11 for your encouraging reviews! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You guys are awesome. See you next chapter!**


	22. That Was Then, This Is Now

Rumplestiltskin and Belle tried to ask Lily about her dream the following morning, but Lily couldn't say anything. Every day was miserable because every night the same story unfolded in her dreams. She didn't understand what was happening to her. Not only was the dream mad, it was driving her mad. She felt afraid to say anything because she was afraid that nobody would believe her. As a result, Lily's classwork and health suffered. After a few phone calls home from concerned teachers, both Rumplestiltskin and Belle decided it best to remove her from school until she was well enough to attend again.

One day, Gold came home from work to find Belle at their daughter's locked bedroom door in complete distraught. "Honey, how can I help you? Please, let me in," Belle begged. "Let us help you. We don't know what's wrong unless you say something."

Gold, after recognizing the issue, immediately came by Belle's side and offered, "Let me try something." He tucked a composition notebook that was in his hand under his armpit and reached into his coat pocket pulling out picking pins. With finesse he lowered his body to view the keyhole better and used the two small pins to unlock the door. He opened the door and in a smooth fluid motion he sat down at the edge of Lily's bed. The room was dark but with the light from the open door he could see her body remain still beneath the comforters. Belle watched from the door's threshold as she watched her husband attempt to communicate. Rumple appeared hesitant on what to say and instead sighed. With a calm delicate voice he said to Lily, "Lily, I have something for you."

Lily was lying sideways and away from her father on her bed, but when she heard her father's voice she turned around to face him. "You know, before you were born I used to have these persistent dreams… and I never stopped having these dreams until I told your mother about them. You know what my dreams were about?"

Lily shook her head silently.

"They were about you. I literally dreamt about you every night and… since then, I've regretted not having told your mother sooner."

He scooted closer to his daughter and placed a caring hand on her ankles. "I know that… what you're going through right now isn't easy. I know that whatever it is that you're dreaming about is the reason you haven't been sleeping. And… since you feel you can't tell your mother or myself what these dreams are, the next best thing to do is to silently purge these dreams out of your system."

Intrigued, she sat up in bed and asked, "How do we do that?"

"I'm glad you asked," he replied with a smirk as he handed his daughter the notebook that was underneath his arm. "I brought you this, so that you can record what's been frightening you. It doesn't have to be words. It can be drawings or doodles… whatever you like. The point of this book is for you to get rid of whatever it is by writing them down. Push and write it out into these pages. You don't have to show it to me or your mother. In fact, when you're done writing down the nightmare we can destroy the book together. I'm serious. We can take this book, stick in a pail, bring it to the rooftop and burn it. But the most important thing is that you write this dream down because when you write it down you face your fear. And when you can do that… you can finally let it go. Can you do that for me?"

"I can," nodded Lily.

"Good," said Gold as he leaned forward kissing her on her head. "Your mother and I love you very much. All we want is your happiness and to see you get better."

… …

Ever since Rumple gave Lily the notebook she couldn't stop pouring what she saw from her dreams into the blank notebook. In a fervent and intense manner, she filled page after page with as much detail of the dream as possible. She wrote every word down, even words that were beyond her vocabulary, as if her life depended on it. Writing the dream down reinforced her belief that it actually happened. She believed in it so whole-heartedly that her dedication to the novelette took a week to complete the dream story. She started her writing with her kidnapping in New York. She wrote the retelling of Henry's seven years and his discovery of the Sorcerer's hat. She wrote down her interactions with Neal and her parents' interaction with the other townsfolk of Storybrooke. However confusing it was, it wasn't until she fleshed out Merlin that she realized who Merlin truly was and the context of it all. Merlin was her father from the future. In the story, she included Merlin's tale and his dilemma with telling his past self about the dangers of the hat until finally she concluded the story with her father destroying the hat.

After writing the final touches to her dream's story, Lily threw her pencil down and instantly felt unburdened. Her father was right. She felt loads better. After much deliberation, Lily finally felt confident enough to confront her parents about her dream and so that night at the dinner table…

"Mama… Papa… I want to ask you something…" said Lily hesitantly.

"What about?" Belle asked as she placed her fork down to wipe her face with the napkin in front of her. Rumple took a quick bite of his steak before glancing over at Lily.

"Uh… is, um… is magic real?"

Belle's mouth fell open, but she quickly caught herself and closed it. She looked over at Rumple who had stopped mid-chew to decide on how to respond.

"Of course it is," said Rumple decidedly, confirming quickly as he swallowed what was in his mouth. He resumed his focus on the plate before him and began cutting off another piece to consume. To Lily, his response was suspiciously quick and it made her conclude that they both had different interpretations of the word, 'magic'. Lily believed in her story and if what she had learned about her father from the story was true, then her father knew exactly what she meant by magic. It was important for Lily to know that magic truly existed. If she could confirm the existence of magic, then she could believe that she wasn't crazy.

"No. I mean, not like sunsets or sunrises like you've shown me, Papa. I mean _real_ magic." Lily took another brave breath and continued, "Could it… perhaps… exist in other places? I mean, besides New York?"

"What other places, sweetheart?" Belle wondered as she folded her hands under her chin to listen to her daughter more intently.

"Like… in a place called… _Storybrooke_?"

At the word Rumple immediately started choking. After hearing the town's name unexpectedly, one that should have never come out of her mouth, he suddenly gasped mid-chew from surprise. He lifted the wine glass that was in front of him and downed the rest of it contents into his mouth, trying but failing to recover from his overreaction. When he was finally able to speak again, he fumbled with his words as he replied with a constricted stutter, " _How… Where…_ _What on Earth is this Storybrooke?_ "

He was obviously hiding something from her. Why else would he act this way unless he knew something about Storybrooke? Intrigued by how her father was reacting to her questions, Lily carried on curiously, "It's… it's a small town in Maine."

Belle looked over at her husband over the undeniable knowledge of the town and saw to her dismay his reluctance over the manner. This would have been the perfect time to finally tell their daughter the truth, but instead he shied away from the opportunity and she shook her head disappointedly. What was he so afraid of? She wondered. Had they finally gotten to the point where their own complacency trumped their identities; forgetting who they once were and where they had come from? Belle knew who she was and she felt that by denying her heritage she was insulting herself because her experiences and life's story was what made her, _her_. Whatever his reasons were for his reluctance, Lily knew about Storybrooke, and Belle needed Rumple to be on board with her when they explained their life's origins to her. The matter definitely warranted further discussion, but his reaction made it so that Belle couldn't tell her daughter right then and there like she had wanted to and it was frustrating. They were on different sides of the subject and it was apparent how complacent he had become whilst living this world. Seeing that Rumple was slightly flummoxed, Belle inquired, "Lily, is this… is this about the dreams you've been having?"

"Yes," Lily replied honestly. "In my dreams, Storybro-"

"-is obviously only a dream," said Rumple dismissively, cutting off Lily's sentence and abruptly undermining her words. "That's why magic exists there. It was only a dream."

"But it can't be just a dream, Papa!" said Lily raising her voice and pleading her case. "It has to be real! It feels too real!"

"You just had a ridiculous dream," snapped Rumple.

"Rumple!" said Belle defending Lily over Rumple's careless remark.

"No, Belle! _This_ is our reality! _This_ is the world we live in now! And in _this_ world, there is no… there is no…!" Rumple wanted to say that there was no " _magic_ " but trailed off as he caught a glimpse at his daughter's face. He couldn't bring himself to completely deny its existence. He gave Belle a frustrated look and realized how quickly his own voice escalated. Seeing that he wasn't going to get any support from his wife, he tried to calm down and resume focus on the dinner before him.

"But I know that it exists!" fought Lily stubbornly, "And I know where to find it! Papa, that's what you said to me on the rooftop. Please believe me, I understand magic now!"

"You know nothing of magic! I don't want to hear another word of this ever again. Do I make myself clear?!"

After hearing her father's loud and discouraging words, Lily became disheartened. Of all people she expected to not believe in her, she didn't expect her father to be one of those people. Her own father didn't believe her, at least not in the way that she wanted him to. Her lips quivered and her eyes watered over her father's harsh undermining.

Rumple knew he was wrong to have raised his own voice at his daughter. So to save his pride, he angrily attacked the rest of his steak that was on his plate.

"Lily…" said Belle as she reached out her hand to console her daughter, but before she could touch her Lily shirked away from her grasp and stormed off into her bedroom crying as she slammed the door.

It was then that Belle understood why Rumple fought so hard to discredit Lily's knowledge of Storybrooke. Confirming Storybrooke would involve explaining his past and explaining his past would not be as easy as explaining hers. Explaining his past would stir up painful memories; memories in which he would have soon liked to have forgotten. He was ashamed of his past and he would be blissfully happy to simply forget who he once was. He was fighting to protect the image he had of himself for his daughter. He wasn't ready to explain who he was or what he had done. Belle couldn't understand his reservation. When he confessed to her of his past transgressions years ago, Belle was able to forgive him. She was able to see past his flaws and knew deep down that if he had told the truth to Lily then she would too. Belle saw the situation for what it was and for him to hurt their daughter like that so he could save his own pride was just simply wrong. An unsettling anger brewed in her belly. Lily deserved better. "Rumple?!" scolded Belle as she gave him a disapproving look.

"What?" barked Rumple.

"Our daughter has finally opened up to us after weeks of her not sleeping well, and what do you do? You immediately debase her and make her believe she's crazy. How are we to protect our daughter from the demons that haunt her at night when she's too afraid to even tell us what they are?!" Belle's voice began to tremble as she realized her own distress. "What kind of mother am I, when my own child comes to me for help and there's nothing I can do to help her? Something else is going on here and we owe it to her as her parents to be as supportive as possible. She's not one of your clients where you can convince them to think or believe whatever it is that you want. She's our daughter and she deserves to know who we are," Belle pointed out angrily.

"We are _not_ ," said Rumple authoritatively, choosing his next words carefully, "prepared to explain the reality of our situation!"

"It's called _the truth_ , Rumple, and the only person not prepared to explain it is you," said Belle as she removed her and her daughter's dinner plates from the table and walked them over to the kitchen sink. Disgusted, Belle quickly threw the two dishes and silverware into the dishwasher and left the room for Rumple to sulk in by himself.

… …

Lily couldn't sleep that night. She waited till the wee hours of the morning to leave her bedroom. She skulked over to her parent's bedroom and craned her head inside. Seeing how they were both asleep she strode over to her mother's personal library. She took out her flashlight and did as she always had to keep her mind preoccupied and pulled out a book. She scanned the bookshelf for something related to the topics of Arthur or Merlin. The light to her flashlight shone over the various spines of the books when she noticed a small book with a giant letter 'M' lay flat against the shelf's back wall. If it wasn't for the other large books in front dwarfing the little novel in the back, she might not have noticed it but she did and her curiosity begged her to investigate.

Lily pulled out the various tomes to get at the sequestered mystery book in the back and in no time at all was finally able unearth the mini novel from its dusty tomb. The little book had accumulated quite the fair amount of dust, but the title of it was still very legible. The font appeared playful which meant that it was obviously meant for children to read. Lily took a loose portion of her night-shirt and dusted off the cover. Seeing that it wasn't a very thick book and was probably going to be a quick read anyways, Lily saw no harm in reading it and returning it to its peculiar hiding spot.

She took the book and walked over to the bay window to unlock the window's hinges. With the windows opened just a crack, a nice cool breeze entered the room and fresh air flowed throughout the condo. While sitting on the cushions of the bay window, she steadied a flashlight in one hand and cradled the open book in the other. When she opened the front cover, she noticed a small parchment inside and pulled it out. Curious, she held it in front of her torch's light to read. 'Ticket' was the only word she was able to make out before the breeze from the open window snatched it from her hand and carried it outside.

"Oh!" gasped Lily as her hands fumbled after it, but it was too late. The paper was gone. "Man!" Lily whispered to herself as she grimaced, "Mom is gonna kill me." Lily knew how her mother valued books, even the disheveled ones. She hoped that the parchment she lost was trivial. As she thought about it, Lily assumed that it had to be. The book had a lot of dust on it. It couldn't have been that important. As long as Lily returned the book, her mother probably wouldn't even notice the missing page. Lily dismissed the absurd notion of her mother being upset over the missing paper and started reading the book.

Reading the book was just what she needed to distract her from the argument she had had with her father only hours ago. After finishing the book, she realized how fatigued she was and she fell asleep by the bay window. As she slipped into unconsciousness, the Mary Poppins book she was reading fell out of her hands and onto the living room floor.

* * *

 **Thank you Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma, NatalieMosherRumbelle, Grace5231973 and Montreat11 for your reviews and hanging in there with me through the twist! I love reading you questions and comments. Currently writing the last chapter to this story as we speak. Should be posting more soon. Til' then, see you next chapter!**


	23. The Family Friend

"Lily! Lily, honey, wake up. I need to ask you something," Belle said anxiously to her daughter while coaxing her to wake up. Belle felt horrible to wake her, but Lily stirred anyways. "I know you've been having trouble sleeping and I'm so, so sorry to wake you up, but this is very important. Did you read this book last night?" said Belle as she held the book up. Lily's eyes opened but her vision was blurry. She squinted and did her best to identify the object her mother was waving in front of her face; The Mary Poppins book. Lily nodded her head.

"There was a piece of paper inside, did you see it? Do you know where it is?" pressed Belle anxiously.

Lily shook her head as she replied groggily, "No."

Rumple came into the living room to assess the situation. He looked around, appearing before them in his work clothes and asked while straightening his tie, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Oh no, no, no, no!" Belle cried out worriedly. At Lily's reply she suddenly fell to the floor and began crawling on her hands and feet to search for the parchment.

"What is it?" demanded Rumple as he watched his wife behave curiously.

She searched frantically underneath the couches and around the living room's furniture when she called back to him, "That book contained a very important piece of paper. That was the Return Ticket for my-"

Suddenly, Belle was cut off by the door bell which went off at that very moment. Belle got to her feet and hurried to the door. Rumple hobbled over after Belle who beat him to the front door and opened it. At the sight of the woman in front of her, Belle stuttered in surprise, "Ma… ma… ma…"

" _Mary_ will suffice, but _really_ , I thought we had gotten past our differences," said Mary. Lily came to the front door to greet whoever it was that their parents were occupied with. The strange woman, who appeared to be about the same age as her mother, wore a plain white long-sleeved dress shirt and a black pencil skirt that went appropriately down to her knees. Lily continued looking at the stranger curiously. In one hand, Mary held an umbrella that had a unique handle in the shape of a bird or parrot of some kind. In the other she held a large multi-colored carpetbag. Although the bag appeared to be in good shape, the colors were slightly faded probably due to over-exposure from having visited so many places. Her hair, which was wrapped up in a strict bun, matched perfectly with her overall demeanor which seemed to say 'professionalism' all the way down to her black high-heeled shoes. If Lily had to guess, Mary was a traveling business woman of some sort.

"Mum," said Lily as she looked at both of her parents for assurance, "Mum, who is this?"

"Oh my!" cried out Mary who was simply overjoyed to see Lily. Lily stood awkwardly in front of the stranger and found the whole situation incredibly odd. She had never seen this woman before, yet somehow tears were forming in Mary's eyes. Mary said joyfully to Lily, "My dear you have grown up so beautifully!"

Seeing that Belle was too shocked to say anything, Rumple answered for her placing both his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Lily," smiled Rumplestiltskin, "this is Mary. She's an old family friend of your mother."

"But mother doesn't have any family friends," said Lily most astutely. It was true. The only friends that Belle had were the mothers of Lily's friends at school. Belle never talked about her family. In fact, as Lily thought about it some more neither did her father. So the fact that Mary was not just a friend, but an old family friend made Lily grow more suspicious of the pleasantly sweet stranger.

"Well that is most unfortunate," shook Mary's head as if giving them her condolences while taking a spare handkerchief to dry her moistened eyes. "And don't forget," she said while looking at Rumplestiltskin, "we met a long time ago too. I would say that makes us old friends as well."

"Of course," agreed Rumplestiltskin.

Belle's jaw fell open as she couldn't believe her eyes. Mary took notice of Belle's staring and replied, "My dear Belle, it is incredibly rude to gawk at people. Mr. Gold," she said addressing Belle's husband, "I do certainly hope you're not going to let me stand out here all day," stated Mary most positively, yet forwardly. Rumple brought his daughter close to his body and they both moved out of the way to grant Mary entrance into their home.

Belle closed the front door and followed after Mary, "How-How did you get here?"

"I flew in, of course. As I hear most people do in this world," replied Mary earnestly. She gave the condo a good once-over with her eyes to inspect the place. When nothing appeared to be out-of-sorts she then turned around to address the family, "I received your return ticket and I arrived as quickly as I could. Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine. There must have been some mistake," reasoned Belle.

"There are no mistakes. Everything happens for a reason. So let's be wise with our time and spend it together. Hmm?" stated Mary as she wandered off into their living room to examine Belle's miniature library of books.

Belle turned to her husband, who was clearly not as upset as she was. In fact, he was the calmest person in the room. "And how are you not concerned right now?!" she accused with frustration as she stormed off after their guest to monitor her.

The truth was Rumple knew that Mary would never admit to her using magic so he really had nothing to worry about with her around. He chuckled with amusement as looked on at his flustered wife with fondness. Lily, who was still by her father's side, looked on curiously at her mother interacting with Mary and remarked, "Mummy doesn't look too happy to see her friend."

"Nonsense. Your mother is just surprised," Rumple replied with a gleeful smile.

… …

Rumplestiltskin decided to call the day off from the Pawn Shop to entertain their guest for the day. The first thing they did was walk around central park. Belle, for the most part, remained quiet listening to both Mary and Gold strategically articulate their small talk. While Belle listened on to the banter, it amazed her on how well they were able to catch up on their lives without bringing up their true pasts. For hours, the dialogue smoothly transitioned from one subject to another, navigating away from certain topics that would otherwise arouse suspicion from their daughter. They were both masters in the art of words. When their legs were tired, they sat for lunch. When lunch was over, they museum hopped all over the city, giving Mary a brief but grandiose tour of New York City.

After all the walking and entertaining, Lily was beginning to fall asleep which cued the family to return back home to their condominium. As Gold unlocked the door Belle carried Lily into their home and went straight to Lily's bedroom to tuck her in. As soon as Belle closed her daughter's bedroom door, she turned and found Mary and Rumple sitting and settling down around the dining table. Just as Belle was about to speak, Mary quickly turned to Gold and asked, "Rumplestiltskin, dear, would you be so kind as to start the kettle, I could really go for some afternoon tea right about now."

Gold nodded to his old friend and got up, glancing over at his upset wife saying, "It would be my pleasure."

Mary looked up at Belle and observed, "I take it you haven't told your daughter."

"Haven't told my daughter… _what?_ " Belle asked offensively as she sat down beside Mary.

Mary turned to Belle and finished her thought, "…about who I am."

"She doesn't know about either of our families, or of magic. Though, somehow, she knows about Storybrooke…" Belle said trailing off. It seemed too much of a strange coincidence. Just last night their daughter confessed her knowledge of magic and now Mary was sitting at their dining table having tea. Before she could speculate further on the matter, her thoughts were interrupted by Rumplestiltskin.

"She doesn't need to know about Storybrooke, or of magic for that matter," he said as he set the tea set before them. "Belle and I decided on the day Lily was born that moving away would be what was best for all of us. This is our happy ending."

"And quite the dream you're living in," retorted Mary snidely. Belle was appalled by what she heard and took the comment negatively. Belle didn't like Mary's tone and what insulted her further was that it was being disguised as sweetness. Before Gold had a chance to respond, the tea kettle began to whistle and he got up to the stove to turn it off.

"I'm sorry," Belle retorted sarcastically, showing her hostility. "Are you judging us on how we choose to live our lives?"

"Not at all," defended Mary. "I'm merely remarking upon the fact that you are denying your daughter the opportunity to learn the truth about who she is. Your child is magical and you seem to think that by denying who she is, she will be complacent to live out the rest of her days without knowing the rest of her family."

"Both of my parents abandoned me and my father… well, let's just say that nothing good came from learning about him," stated Gold as he poured hot water into three tea cups. As soon as he was done pouring he sat down to listen and joined in on the conversation.

"What about your father, Belle?" Mary said redirecting the conversation back over to Belle. "Don't you think Maurice deserves to see and know his granddaughter?"

"I told him and he understood when we moved that this is where I would be most happy and that I would always treasure his memory in my heart."

"But you dishonor him by never mentioning his name. How can you love a person if you can't even acknowledge their existence?" Mary pointed out as she took her tea cup and sipped a little bit of her hot beverage. The conversation turned awkward, but before it turned uncomfortable Mary said, "I can see that I've overstayed my welcome." Mary set her unfinished cup down and got up from the table. As Mary stood up, so did Gold.

"Nonsense, you're our guest. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you like," insisted Gold to their guest, but Mary closed her eyes and nodded politely.

"Thank you very much for such a lovely day. It was really nice of you to give me a tour of your wonderful neighborhood. And thank you for your invitation to stay, but I really must get going. I know where my home is and I must get back to it," said Mary as she went to her carpetbag, pulling out a letter of some sort.

"And where is home for you, now-a-days?" inquired Gold as he watched Mary take the letter and walk over to Lily's bedroom. Quietly, Mary opened Lily's bedroom door and glanced one last time at Lily's sleeping form. Both Belle and Gold followed after Mary into Lily's bedroom and watched as Mary slipped the letter into Lily's completed dream journal. Mary looked back up at the parents and smiled as she excused herself back out of the child's bedroom.

As soon as the door was closed again, Mary softly answered Gold's question and said, "My home is wherever my family is… and that is in Storybrooke. Should you ever need my assistance again, just open that letter. You'll know what to do."

What the family outside Lily's door didn't realize was that just inside… Lily was wide awake and heard every single word Mary said.

… …

As soon as her bedroom door closed, Lily's eyes shot open. Mary knows about Storybrooke! Not only does she know about the place, she acknowledged it! Why did her parents deny its existence? Who exactly is this Mary, the mysterious family friend? And why was her mother acting so strangely around her?

It didn't matter. All Lily knew was that Storybrooke actually existed and that it wasn't just a dream. Storybrooke was real. It upset Lily that her father didn't believe her, so it was decided then that she would go there and bring back magic to New York to prove it to her father. She knew exactly where it was so she waited for nightfall to make her move.

Lily waited all evening for her parents to finally go to bed and when they did she crept out of her bedroom. With her packed bookbag hoisted over her shoulders, she snuck into the kitchen and threw a couple of snacks into her bag. She stealthily walked out of the kitchen and strode over to her mother's purse taking her mother's credit card and cash before quietly walking out the door.

… …

All on her own, Lily hailed a cab which took her to the nearest Greyhound bus station. She looked around the bus station for signs that would take her to Maine, so she went to the front clerk to inquire about purchasing a ticket.

"Excuse me, I'm looking to purchase a one-way ticket to Maine. When will the next bus depart?"

The heavy-set woman in the ticket booth eyed Lily up and down suspiciously and asked, "Honey, where are your parents? All underage children must be accompanied by an adult."

Just then a woman suddenly appeared next to Lily and claimed assuredly, "I am this young girl's chaperone."

"Mary?" Lily said looking up at her mother's friend. Mary ignored Lily's acknowledgement and was instead focused on the woman in front of them in the ticket booth. The ticket administrator looked at Mary and felt more at ease knowing Lily was not there unaccompanied. So she replied answering Lily's original question, "The next bus that leaves for Portland departs at twelve a.m."

"We shall take two tickets please," said Mary as she pulled out the exact change from her carpetbag and handed it over to the lady.

"Thank you," said Lily as both she and Mary sat down at a booth together to wait to get on the bus.

"Well I was not about to let you go on a bus alone. Besides, you and I are going to the same place."

"You-you are?" stuttered Lily, surprised by how much she knew.

"Of course, we _are_ heading to Storybrooke, aren't we?"

"Yes," replied Lily dumbfounded. She blinked unbelievably at Mary. Lily had so many questions, but to double-check to make sure she wasn't just imagining things she asked the first thing that came to her mind, "You… you believe? You believe in _magic?_ "

In response, Mary said nothing. Instead she smiled at Lily and then started humming a pleasant and upbeat melody.

Minutes later, the boarding call for their bus was announced over the intercom and they both got up to board. As soon as Lily and Mary got onto the bus and found their seats, Lily began asking Mary questions.

"Are you Mary Poppins? How do you know my mother? Are you magical?!" Lily asked eagerly.

"That is enough questioning for now. Now it's time for you to rest. If you stay awake it'll be an awfully long bus ride to Maine."

"But I can't possibly sleep right now! I've got so many questions for you," said Lily excitedly.

Mary refused to answer her questions and instead started to sing a strange yet enchantingly subdued lullaby.

 _"Stay awake, don't rest your head. Don't lie down upon your bed. While the moon drifts in the skies. Stay awake, don't close your eyes…"_

Before Lily knew it, her eyes closed and her head fell casually on Mary's shoulder. Unfortunately for Lily, she never got to hear the ending of Mary's hauntingly beautiful song.


	24. Deja Vu

Belle awoke in their bed with a jerk as if waking from a bad dream. Her sudden movement away from Rumple's comforting embrace roused him abruptly as well. With a concerned look on his face, he said with alarm, "Belle! Belle what is it?"

"I-I don't know. Something doesn't feel right. It's… it's hard to explain." Belle racked her brain trying to figure out what it was. Why did she wake up suddenly? She looked around their bedroom. Nothing was out of place. With the light that peeked between the blinds she could still see every object in their room. Nothing was out of the ordinary, except… the silence. Belle looked over at her alarm clock which read 7:32 a.m.

Usually around this time Belle heard the typical movements from their daughter. She waited to hear the usual stomping around in the kitchen or the clanking of a spoon knocking against her bowl as she ate her poured cereal. She waited to listen for the sound of pages flipping in the next room. Belle hoped that Lily was simply reading a book from her bookshelf, but instead she heard silence and it disturbed her. Belle called to Rumple, "Do you hear anything?"

"No," he replied unsure what it was that she was talking about.

"Exactly. It's too quiet."

She tossed the blankets from off of her body and immediately got out of their bed to leave their bedroom. As soon as she opened their bedroom door she scanned the living room. It was empty.

"What's wrong?" Rumple asked again as he stared at Belle's face which seemed to be filled with worry. Belle leaned up against the door frame to their bedroom and turned to Rumplestiltskin. "Rumple, when did Lily go to bed yesterday?"

"Sometime in the late afternoon… Why?"

"Lily's been asleep for over twelve hours… that's an awfully long time. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

"Well, she has been having trouble sleeping lately. Perhaps she's just catching up on some well-needed rest," justified Rumple trying to alleviate her concerns as he sat up in bed.

Belle shook her head. It was possible that Lily was still sleeping, but for some reason something just didn't feel right. His comment should have reassured her, but it didn't so she left their bedroom. When she crossed the living room to Lily's bedroom, she opened the door to discover…

"Rumple! Rumple, Lily's gone!"

"What?!" shouted Rumplestiltskin. He sprung out of their bed and hobbled quickly over to Lily's bedroom. He rushed to Belle's side to see the evidence and to his dismay discovered the same thing.

"Oh Rumple! Do you think she was kidnapped?!" Belle cried out of distress.

"I don't see a ransom note," he said as he looked around Lily's room for clues. "I don't see a struggle either. Her dresser drawer is still open and her bookbag is gone. She wasn't kidnapped. Lily ran away."

"Ran away?! Why? Should we call the police? I'm going to call the police," stated Belle determinedly as she went to her purse to search for her cell phone.

"There's no need," he said more calmly than Belle, "I think I know exactly where she went."

"Where did she go?" inquired Belle. Rumple walked toward the journal that was lying on the side table next to Lily's bed and picked it up. As he flipped through the pages Belle could see from where she stood the one word in the journal that was circled at least a dozen times. "To Storybrooke," answered Gold as he pointed to the highlighted word.

When Gold was done flipping through the pages, Belle noticed the letter Mary slipped into the journal from earlier. She called to him while extending her hands to reach for the letter, "Mary's letter! Hand it to me!"

Rumple did as he was commanded and handed the unopened envelope to Belle. "She said if we ever needed her we just needed to open this letter."

Belle ripped open the envelope and opened up the letter in which she read out loud:

 _Dearest Belle,_

 _Should you need my assistance again, you will find that the rest of your family is now in Storybrooke._

 _Sincerely yours,_

 _Mary Poppins_

"… _the rest of your family_ … Mary kidnapped our daughter! This is a ransom letter!" concluded Belle irrationally.

"Don't be absurd! You're jumping to conclusions. Mary would never do such a thing. Besides, we were standing right here when we watched her put that letter into this journal. Lily was still sleeping when Mary left and we both watched Mary leave alone. There's no possible way that Mary kidnapped her," reasoned Gold.

"She could have used her magic!"

"You and I both know that's not the case." Rumple shook his head in disagreement. "And no," he said firmly. "In all the years I've known her, she has never taken or harmed a child. Look," he said while coming forward to her to look her sincerely in the eyes, "I know that your relationship with her is still very complicated. I know that when you're angry with someone it's very easy to find reasons to blame them for everything. But you and I both know that she didn't do this."

He was right. She still harbored resentment for Mary. And although they had made peace on their last encounter, it didn't completely wipe away the pain that she still felt. But that was another discussion for another time. This was about finding their daughter. Belle side-stepped his point and pointed at the letter. "Then how do you explain the ' _you will find that the rest of your family is now in Storybrooke_ '? It's worded pretty conveniently, don't you think?" Belle said while looking down at the letter and then up at him to interpret.

"Well, she _did_ mention right before leaving that she was heading home and she made herself quite clear as to where that was. It must be a coincidence," explained Gold.

"But you don't believe in coincidences!" exclaimed Belle as she shook her head.

Rumple paused for a moment as he realized the error in his statement. She was right. He never believed in coincidences. Even he was shocked to hear those words come out of his own mouth. The Freudian slip was said out of his own denial for what they were about to do next. In a low, but serious voice he admitted, "You're right... I don't. Either way… we're going to Storybrooke."

… …

Lily awoke inside the backseat of a taxi cab lying next to Mary. She sat up inside the moving vehicle and quickly looked about the cabin space. Somehow, Mary transported both of them from the final Greyhound bus stop to a cab without waking her up. That much, Lily was able to gather. The one thing Lily couldn't figure out was where they were, but before Lily was able to ask any questions Mary noticed Lily stirring and said, "You're awake. Good. We're almost there."

Lily rubbed her eyes as she glared outside the taxicab window. She saw fields upon fields of agriculture and turned-up soil. They were driving through farm country. Was this the right direction? Did this road lead to Storybrooke? It all seemed suspiciously desolate so Lily asked, "Where are we exactly?"

"Just outside of Storybrooke, which reminds me… Excuse me, Dennis…" Mary said calling to the taxi cab driver. The driver looked up through his rear-view mirror and said in a low voice, "How did you know my name was Dennis? I mean, I know we had talked for a while about my family earlier, but even then I never once mentioned my name."

Lily looked around the cab's cabin and wondered the same thing too. It felt like a valid question to ask since she didn't know either. There was nothing in the cab she could see from her perspective that would indicate to her otherwise.

"Your full name is on your business card which is clearly labeled on the dash in front of the speedometer," pointed out Mary from the back passenger seat. Lily sat up in her seat and craned her head to see the dashboard and just as Mary described there was the business card. As soon as Mary pointed toward the business card Lily became less wary. However, it was still curious for Mary to have spotted such small font from far away. Could this woman be _The_ Mary Poppins from her book? Part of her believed it to be so. So Lily looked on as a healthy spectator watching the curious conversation unfold before her.

"Now please, would you be so kind as to drop us off at the side of the road," directed Mary.

"What? _Here?_ " Dennis said while raised a worried brow. He turned around in his seat to get a better view of Mary and asked, "Are you sure?"

"I am quite positive."

"I can't just leave you and this little girl here in the middle of nowhere by yourselves! It wouldn't be right," explained Dennis. "Why don't I drop you both off at the gas station we saw earlier? Please? I insist! It would make me feel so much better."

"I appreciate your concern for our welfare Dennis, but I am sure that we will be quite alright," insisted Mary affirmatively. "Dennis, if you would, please?"

" _Alright…_ " said Dennis reluctantly. Dennis pulled off on the side of the road and stopped.

"How much do I owe you Dennis?" Mary asked as she reached for her carpetbag. Lily watched as Dennis reset the cab's counter and saw the price of their trip drop from $457.32 to zero. Dennis turned around in his seat and proclaimed with a toothy grin, "You don't owe me anything."

"What utter nonsense! It's too much. What do I owe you?" she asked again.

"No charge. It's the least I can do," insisted Dennis in his gruff voice. Mary squinted disapprovingly towards Dennis and he continued, "You fought me on where to drop you off, now please don't fight me on this. Let me have this one courtesy."

Mary beamed at Dennis and said gratefully, "Thank you Dennis. You are much too kind."

"Anything for you _Mary_ ," grinned Dennis as he parked on the side of the road. Dennis got out of the cab and left to retrieve their bags for them from the back trunk. Before Mary got out of the car, Lily stopped her to ask curiously, "That was awfully nice of Dennis. Why did he do that?"

"You show a bit of kindness to everyone and eventually it will all come back to you in one small way or another," reasoned Mary as she stepped out of the vehicle.

"Or in some _big_ way," murmured Lily under her breath. With her book-bag secured over both of her shoulders, Lily watched as the back of the cab drove away without them. Lily doubted Mary's judgment and wasn't sure whether or not being left at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere was such a good idea. Lily spun on her heel to address Mary and accused, "Why didn't you let Dennis drop us off at a gas station? What were you thinking? We're nowhere near Storybro-"

By the time Lily turned around a sign appeared when moments ago it never existed. On the sign read, " _Welcome to Storybrooke."_

"I am _thinking_ … that when we arrive to Storybrooke, we should go to the Flower Shop," said Mary as she carried her carpet bag in one hand and her umbrella in the other. Lily read the Mary Poppins story from her mother's bookshelf and everything she had read matched the exact person she saw in front of her; cheery disposition, rosy cheeks, carpet bag, magical umbrella… _but was the umbrella really magical?_ Lily followed after Mary with her book bag over her shoulders and walked past the welcome sign with awe.

When Dennis dropped them off she could have sworn that the sign wasn't there before, but there it was, exactly as she had pictured it in her dreams. It was as if the sign appeared suddenly by magic. And if the sign had appeared by magic, then Storybrooke really did have magic! It wasn't any ordinary dream! The notion was certainly exciting as she found the pace in her step quickening. She continued to follow behind Mary and thought of something else. If what she dreamt about Storybrooke's magic was true, then that also meant that she too could wield magic. Lily had never performed magic in her life, except from when she had vanished to the library in her vision. Could she do it again? She couldn't even be certain her magic would work, but there was only one way to find out…

Mary carried on with her conversation as she led the way over the border. With complete confidence she continued walking, certain that Lily was following behind her. So she rambled without looking behind her, "…There's a very important person there that I'd like to introduce to you. His shop has all sorts of flowers…"

When Mary turned around she was surprised to see nothing following after her. Mary huffed out of frustration as she realized what had just happened. "Oh bother…"

… …

Gold gasped as he felt the strangest déjà vu. They were in their car heading back to Storybrooke and felt that they had done this before. In this world it felt like déjà vu, but from their world it was a result of his possessing the power to see into the future. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time and he knew what it meant. Seeing that Belle wasn't startled by his sudden gasp, he looked over at her in the passenger seat engrossed in Lily's journal.

"You haven't stopped reading her journal since we left," pointed out Rumple as they drove out of the city and got onto the open road. He glanced over at his wife whose face was still buried deep in their daughter's journal. "I thought you were going to call your father once we got into the car?"

"I was… but Rumple, she knows about us," said Belle almost gravely.

"What are you talking about?"

"This dream that's frightened her from sleep… it's more than a dream. All these details of a kidnapping, about Storybrooke, and then this Sorcerer's hat… It's as if this all had actually happened… but obviously it hadn't."

"…Déjà vu."

"What?"

"Déjà vu… Us traveling back to Storybrooke right now… It's like we've already experienced this before."

"According to Lily's journal, we _have_ done this before," said Belle as she looked up from the book, realizing something about his comment that he shouldn't have realized. "How could you have known that without having read her journal?"

"Because, just now, I experienced déjà vu and Lily's dreams sound exactly like what it is that you're describing. In her mind, Lily experienced a dream, but what I think she actually experienced was an alternate reality; an extreme sense of déjà vu."

"An alternate reality? Déjà vu? How is that possible? And what does that have to deal with you being able to see into the future?"

"How is anything extraordinary possible in this world? … _Magic_ …" he answered gravely. "You see, when I had my power as the Dark One I could see into the future. When I had it, I remembered experiencing feelings similar to déjà vu, but instead of feeling like you've done something before, you feel like what you're experiencing now will happen again in the future. Like déjà vu, the power of foresight can be triggered by any one of your senses… a smell, a sound, a look, a taste, a touch… and because your senses are how you perceive time some people interpret this information more acutely than others. I think Lily is one of those individuals. I blame myself for this. I think one of the gifts she inherited from me as the Dark One was her unique ability to perceive time differently, or her ability to see into other realities. It would explain her nightmares and how she came to know Storybrooke so vividly. So if I'm experiencing déjà vu in a world without magic, then I think it's possible for Lily to have inherited this unique intuitive gift."

Belle shook her head and was still slightly confused, "Déjà vu… I-I still don't understand."

"It's complicated. Imagine _time_ like you're looking down the neck of a guitar and the strings, in this case, represent time. On this instrument there are multiple strings, multiple timelines and realities running parallel to each other and often times they never touch. But occasionally, the strings bend and when they do the parallel universes touch and the reverberations of those connections are so immense that the waves are transmitted as moments of déjà vu. Trust me… what Lily experienced in her dream was an alternate reality."

"What's your proof?" questioned Belle.

"My _proof?_ " Rumple said raising his eyebrows in surprise over the challenge. He looked over at Lily's journal which was still in Belle's lap and nodded towards it. "Read to me what's in her journal, starting at the beginning. You'll see that what I say is true," requested Rumple. Belle started from the beginning reading the story and agreed that Lily could have never concocted on her own. Since they had time to kill before they arrived at the border, Belle read through it all out loud to Rumplestiltskin. When Belle was done, even she was convinced that it wasn't any ordinary dream. Lily had somehow inherited the ability to dream alternate realities, but why this particular one? The ability was, in and of itself, curious. Perhaps, Belle speculated, it _was_ a talent he had passed on to Lily as the Dark One. As soon as Belle was done, Gold took a moment to absorb everything she had read. It was shocking to say the least. As soon as the shock dissipated he said, "That proof you asked me earlier about the alternate reality. This is it… the journal. There are way too many details for it to be anything else."

"So why do you think she ran away to Storybrooke? What is she trying to prove?"

Gold sighed again as he realized the answer, "Because of what we had argued over two nights ago at the dinner table… _magic_. I believe she's trying to prove that magic is real. Based off of the alternate reality she wrote in her journal, I think she may be after the Sorcerer's hat."

" _The hat?!_ Why? Of all the items in your shop, or even in that town, why would she choose that bloody item?"

"She wants to prove that magic is real and that hat may just be powerful enough to work, even in this world. It was the prevalent theme throughout Lily's story and it's the only thing there that she knows the most about. It certainly has my attention," said Rumple assuredly. At Rumple's last word, the Cadillac's engine revved and their speed picked up. "That hat is incredibly dangerous and if Lily is after it, then her life may be in danger. We need to get to Storybrooke as soon as possible."

They were going back to Storybrooke. That was for certain. They were going back to magic. The very idea was foreboding and Belle was suddenly reminded of the dangers of magic. "Rumple, when we cross the border…" Belle began hesitantly.

"Yes?" he asked as he glanced over at her in the passenger seat.

"Will you be alright?"

"Of course I will."

"No, I mean… with your magic. It has been years since you've been without it. Won't _you_ be tempted to use the hat?"

"I'll be fine," assured Rumplestiltskin. "If this is an alternate reality, then when I wrote on the Grail to destroy the Sorcerer's hat, I never became the Author. It could be why we're experiencing _this_ reality. If I never became possessed by the Author, then I never handed the hat off to Henry to give to my past self. The hat wouldn't even exist therefore, the Author does not exist."

"That doesn't answer my question," observed Belle skeptically as she waited for him to answer her question about being tempted by the hat. Rumple blinked and then replied, "Your half of your heart still beats within mine. According to the story, it was what prevented me from being tempted in the first place. I won't be so easily tempted so long as I still carry your heart. Essentially, it will be you who will be protecting me."

As uneasy as their situation was, his reply was somewhat satisfactory. The sentiment was heartwarming to say the least and Belle knew that so long as they were together they would be successful in finding their daughter. They were more powerful together than they were apart. Nothing could go wrong as long as they searched for their daughter together. She smiled at his assurance. She hoped that he was right about his addiction to magic and that for him it was truly gone.

* * *

 **Sorry guys about not posting on my usual Sunday. This chapter was a buggar. Especially when it came down to editing that Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey stuff. And then of course the server was down for a while. So here it is! Will be posting another chapter fairly soon, in lieu of the belated chapter posting. Thank you to Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma, Montreat11, and Guest for reviewing the past couple of chapters! I look forward to speaking with you guys soon. See you next chapter!**


	25. A Price to Magic

Lily needed proof of magic to bring to her father and the first thing she could think of was the Sorcerer's hat. She knew that the hat's magic would work outside this world, so Lily went after the object going directly to the one person who could possibly have it… Henry. Lily appeared just on the outskirts of the cabin she recalled so vividly from in her dreams. She knew it was where Henry secretly taught Neal magic and where Henry would most likely be. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head and she wondered with concern. _Does Henry already have the hat? Could he already be under control of the Author?_ There was no way for her to be certain.

If Henry was under the influence of the hat, then she knew she had to quickly subdue him and the only way of doing that was by catching him off guard. Her plan was to physically remove the hat from Arthur. Then another thought sprung up in her head, _what if he didn't have the hat?_ She had to think back to her dream thinking about what she knew about Henry. If Henry didn't have the hat, then that would mean she would need Cogsworth to go… _Cogsworth!_ It would be the next best object that he would definitely have that would certainly work outside of Storybrooke. _But what if he didn't have that either?_ She didn't know, but Henry would.

Lily couldn't afford to be careless and she knew that she was on a bit of a time crunch. Surely by now her parents would have discovered her disappearance and had probably alerted the proper authorities of it. She needed to get home as soon as possible, before her parents _really_ worried. Lily knew that it was in Henry's kind nature to be helpful and surely if he understood her situation he'd help her. However, there was no way of knowing that Henry was still Henry unless she confronted him while he was restrained. It was for her own safety, Lily reasoned.

Lily wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Henry was equally powerful with or without the hat, but could _she_ overpower _him?_ Lily hesitated. It was another hitch and it made her rethink her plan. As she debated with herself on what she wanted to do she crept along the side of the cabin and listened. The voices within were muffled, but she recognized the individuals like she was at the cabin yesterday. Henry was talking to Neal. Her dream about Storybrooke felt real. She had never met them before in her life, but she felt like she had. To Lily, even she had to admit that it felt a little strange to know people without ever really meeting them before. She couldn't exactly say that she _knew_ them personally, only of what her dream allowed her to envision. Lily was indeed magical but for a magical seven year old that blurred the line between dream and reality, things were not about to go well for the individuals inside.

Lily could barely hear what they were saying inside and figured, based on the feeling she had being so close to the cabin, that it was most likely because the cabin was being cloaked by magic. She raised her hands, unsure of what it was that she was doing and focused on the barrier. With ease, Lily magically lifted the cloak and a shimmering glow rippled over the entire cabin. Suddenly she heard some movement within the cabin and then actual audible words.

"What is it?" Neal asked his nephew. "What's wrong? What do you hear?"

An eerie pause filled the air and in a subdued voice, Henry replied, "I feel… another magical presence."

"It's Emma or Regina, isn't it?" Neal asked nervously. "They're here, aren't they? They've found us! I knew it."

Henry moved slowly towards the cabin's window and countered, "No… this kind of magic is… is different."

Lily clung to the outside wall by the window as Henry came forward to peer through the window's glass. He stared suspiciously outside the window and saw nothing. He stood there for a few more moments and then resumed his conversation with Neal. Lily ducked below the window and rounded the corner of the cabin to its front door.

 _Could it be Henry? Or was it Arthur pretending to be Henry?_ Either way, he still intimidated her. Or at least, she knew that the Author did. Her dream felt so real that she could still remember Arthur's tight bandaging when he kidnapped her. She needed to be swift. She needed to be bold. She needed to be brave…

"Aargh!" shouted Neal in pain.

 _Neal! Why was he in pain?_ Lily thought in alarm. Henry or not, he was hurting her friend. Neal shouldn't be in pain. Henry would never hurt his nephew, so it had to be Arthur in the room. Lily was sure of it or so she reasoned. Hearing Neal's cry made her decision that much easier, so she stood up and magically forced the door wide open. Neal was on the ground and had his hands wrapped around his injured foot. Both he and Henry looked up in alarm at the surprise visitor.

"Leave my friend alone!" proclaimed Lily boldly.

"Woah! Who are you?" Henry asked, startled by the sudden intrusion. Henry looked over at Neal and asked, "Neal, do you know who this is?"

"I'm… I'm…" Lily stammered in confusion. _He doesn't know my name?_ _No! He hurt Neal. He must be Arthur! Why else would he still be on the ground? But Arthur would have known my name?_ She didn't want to give Henry her first name. To give a person your name empowers that person with knowledge over you. That's what she learned from her father. Knowledge is power. Henry was powerful enough and she did not want to forfeit any more over to him by revealing who she was. Names were important, but she needed to know facts. Facts like whether or not he had the hat or whether or not he was being possessed by it. So she gave Henry the first name she could think of and while he was still stunned she said, "My name… is Morgan. And-and I need you to give me the Sorcerer's hat."

Henry could tell that Lily was magical and could feel her immense power from across the room as if it was radiating from her. It was getting far too dangerous for them to be using magic anymore so Henry decidedly instantly, "Alright, _Morgan_ , I think practice time is over. No more magic for anyone." Henry waved his hands all around and magic everywhere in Storybrooke ceased to exist.

Lily felt the goose-bumps on her skin go away, but then something else awoke inside her. She couldn't explain what it was, but it felt like an explosion of butterflies emanating from within. Whatever it was that Henry did, it didn't waver her intentions. She bravely came forward and spoke, "I know who you are, Arthur."

"His name isn't Arthur. It's Henry," stated Neal as he lifted himself up by a neighboring chair. He looked back and forth between Lily and Henry with complete confusion as he hobbled on one foot.

"Well it's a lie!" exclaimed Lily.

"Woah, woah, woah. Let's all settle down here. There's no need to be hostile. Nobody is lying about anything. My name is Henry," said Henry trying to calmly reason with the petite stranger.

Lily ignored Henry not believing a word he was saying. She pointed at Henry and then turned to Neal and said, "Of course he would say that. Neal, he's been lying to you! He's been lying to your family and all of Storybrooke."

" _Henry…_ " Neal called to Henry, fearful of Lily. Lily's ferocity frightened Neal and Henry felt the need to intercede and protect Neal from it. Henry took a step forward toward Lily placing his body between hers and Neal's, but Lily sidestepped and evaded his enclosure.

As she dodged Henry she said to Neal, "There's a…a magical object in his shop… Zelena's pendant. It can take away your powers like I know you've always wanted, but he's been hiding it from you…"

"How do you know these things?!" Neal demanded to know.

"It's true. Isn't it Arthur?!" said Lily fiercely toward Henry.

Henry, caught off-guard by Lily's knowledge, stopped in his tracks. Despite the misunderstanding over Neal's injury, everything she was saying was the truth. There was no way she could have known this information and his hesitation made him look guilty. Henry began, "Look! Morgan…"

"You see!" pointed out Lily. "He doesn't deny it! It's because what I say is true!"

"Morgan! I'm not wearing any hat! I don't have any pendant. Let's just talk about this calmly…" started Henry, but he was immediately cut off by the little girl before him.

"You still don't believe me? Let me prove it to you!" shouted Lily and she raised her arms at Henry. At the gesture, Lily's hazel eyes flashed gold and she repelled Henry to a chair using magic. Ropes sprung up from out of nowhere and she approached him confidently.

"How?! What!" exclaimed Henry absolutely bewildered. "There's no way! I made Storybrooke magic-less. How are you able to do this?" Henry cried out with alarm as he struggled in his new restraints.

"I'm just treating you how you would have treated me," said Lily as she took the handkerchief from his breast-pocket and stuffed it in his mouth.

Neal was paralyzed by fear. He didn't know what to do or who to believe. He didn't have his magic because of Henry and because of that he was left defenseless. Lily was frighteningly enchanted. And although he was too afraid to go near her, he wasn't about to leave his nephew behind to this strange girl. Neal cried out, "What are you doing?!"

Lily reached into Henry's coat pocket and pulled out Henry's pocket-watch.

"Is that…?!" exclaimed Neal, recognizing the object in her hands. It was the object the whole town talked about. The object Neal helped Henry search for in his Pawn Shop on occasion. Without a doubt, the pocket-watch Lily dangled in front of him was the same watch from the picture Henry had shown to Neal. _But why would Henry hide this from everyone?_

"That's right," confirmed Lily who stepped back from Henry taking the pocket-watch with her. "It's Cogsworth. He's been lying about the one object that could take people in and out of Storybrooke. Come on," she turned to Neal taking his shoulder and disappearing from the cabin. They vanished from inside the cabin and reappeared at a further distance in the middle of the woods.

"What are you doing? Get away from me! You're just going to hurt me like you did Henry!" yelled Neal toward Lily as he backed away from her out of fear.

"Arthur was the one who was hurting you, not me. I was… I was trying to save you. See…," said Lily as she waved her hand over his injured ankle, healing it miraculously. Neal stared down at his newly healed leg as she demonstrated her power. There was no way she could have performed magic, but she did and he watched her with curious amazement. She glanced up at him with her gold eyes and in that brief moment, he saw… she saw…

He couldn't explain it, but he felt a pull or connection of some type to this stranger. Like he knew her, but knew that there was no way that he did. That was all she was to him… a stranger; a stranger who restrained Henry and kidnapped him.

After healing him, her eyes returned to their original color and it was then that he was reminded of her incredible power. Although Neal couldn't articulate it, Lily's magic wasn't what frightened him about her. Magic was something he saw his family perform on a daily basis. It was how Lily used her magic to her advantage with no regard to consequence that was so frightening. So much was happening so quickly that it was too much for him to comprehend. The whole situation was just simply overwhelming. Lily noticed his worry and reached out with her hand to comfort him. With great apprehension Neal jumped at the gesture and he backed away from her.

"No! You're… you're a monster!" exclaimed Neal.

She looked down at her hands out of disbelief and stammered, "I'm, I'm… I'm sorry! I was just trying to help you. Please forgive me!"

Without saying another word Neal took off running into the woods. Surprised by his reaction to her she slumped to the ground in sadness as she suddenly found herself alone and friendless. She honestly thought she was saving his life from Arthur but had unintentionally frightened him in the process. With the pocket-watch still in her hands, she threw it to the ground and curled up into a ball and cried. This was not how she had imagined saving Neal and bringing magic back to her father.

… …

"What's wrong?" asked Belle noticing Rumple's contorted face as he hung up the call. They were in the state of Maine and were getting closer to Storybrooke's border. It was time for Henry to let them through the border.

"Henry's not answering his cell phone," he said disappointedly as he continued driving.

"Rumple, how could a seven year old girl have run away from New York on her own? She doesn't have any money! What if she got kidnapped along the way? What if the police accuse us of child neglect or something because we didn't report it?"

"I doubt that that's the case. Lily gets her resourcefulness from you and her deviant ways from me… if she's anything like us, I'm sure she's already there by now."

"I suppose you're right. Whenever we have our hearts set on something we do like to see things through," agreed Belle as she rolled her eyes.

Rumple let out an exhaustive sigh and continued, "And _I_ suppose that it was only a matter of time before magic finally caught up to us. Check your purse."

She lifted her bag that was on the floor by her legs and placed it on her lap, "What am I looking for?"

"Is there anything missing in your wallet?"

"My wallet?" As soon as Belle pulled out her wallet she discovered that it was curiously unlatched. Sure enough, one of her credit cards was missing. Belle gave out an exasperated sigh and turned to Rumple who saw the evidence.

"Just as I thought," he said answering one of Belle's questions while looking at the void in Belle's wallet. "Look, I wouldn't worry about the police. Unless the person in question has been missing for over forty-eight hours, they wouldn't have been able to open up a case."

Belle caught sight of Rumple's perturbed face and asked, "Then why do you look like you still have doubts?"

"Oh, I don't doubt that Lily made it into Storybrooke," corrected Rumple.

"And what makes you so sure of _that_?"

"…Because knowing our daughter, she's most likely inherited our ability to be stubbornly determined," he replied as he punched in the number to Henry's cell phone more forcefully than necessary into his phone. He placed the phone to his ear again as the number dialed, but like before he had no success. In a frustrated huff, Rumple said agitatedly, "What I can't figure out is how she made it past Storybrooke's protection spell without having made contact from the one person inside that isn't answering his cell phone!"

That part didn't give Belle any comfort. Belle looked over at Rumple's cell phone which was still in his hand. "Why don't you try again?"

"I've already tried three times!" said Rumple raising his voice out of frustration.

"Well, maybe he's busy," speculated Belle as she placed her wallet back into her purse. "You know, a lot has probably changed in Storybrooke since we left for New York. Henry's an adult now with a job running your shop. He could be doing any number of things," Belle said as she pulled out her cell phone. "Let's call Emma."

Rumple nodded as Belle searched through her contacts list on her phone and dialed her friend. She held the phone in her hand and placed it on speakerphone for the pair of them to listen. Finally, with much success, Emma answered the phone, _"Belle? Is it, is it really you?"_

"Emma! Hi! Yes. It's me and…"

" _How… how are you? It's been a while, hasn't it?"_

"Yes, it has," Rumple answered shortly.

"I've got you on speakerphone. Rumple's in the car with me," explained Belle.

" _Well this is out-of-the blue. I haven't heard from you guys in like, what, seven years? Did you guys fall off the face of the planet when you drove off to your happy ending?"_ said Emma in the most passive-aggressive way, hiding how insulted she was on behalf of Henry.

Belle didn't have time to explain why they hadn't called in years. In her mind, they had all been blissfully happy living together in this world. That is, until Lily's dreams happened. Rumple and Belle also didn't have time to get into a heated discussion over their lack of communication with the family and got straight to the point. "I'm-I'm sorry we haven't kept in contact over the years but Emma, this is an emergency. Our daughter has somehow found out about Storybrooke. She knows about its magic and has run away from home. She's either heading there or is already there right now. Have you seen a little seven year old girl?"

" _No. I haven't heard or seen anything about a missing girl_. _Not that she would have been able to cross the border into Storybrooke. The protection spell is still up. How do you think she was able to fund her escape?_ "

"She has one of my credit cards," answered Belle with a sigh, feeling duped.

" _I'm nowhere near my computer at the moment. Perhaps you can call in to your bank on your account of the card that's missing, and track the last few transactions,"_ suggested Emma.

"That's a great idea! I'll do that when we hang up," commended Belle.

"What about Mary Poppins?" interrupted Rumplestiltskin. "Have you seen her either?"

" _Mary Poppins? She's in town too?"_

"Yes," confirmed both Belle and Rumple at the same time.

" _No. I haven't seen her around town either. I can stop by Moe's shop and ask if he's seen her_."

"Don't bother. There's something else that's more pressing. I just tried calling Henry on his cell phone and he's not responding. Is he ok? Have you heard from him? Does he seem like himself?" Rumple asked.

" _I…"_ began Emma, but Belle and Rumple could tell from the other end that she was baffled by the odd questioning, _"just talked to him yesterday evening. He seems… normal, as far as I know. Why?_ "

"We need to find a way to… get into…" Belle wanted to say 'Storybrooke' but was suddenly at a loss for words as the 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign came into view. She couldn't even finish her sentence. They knew they were getting close to Storybrooke's border but they didn't know they were _that_ close. They were hoping to speak to Henry in time to lift Storybrooke's cloak, but discovered that the veil had already been lifted. Rumple slowly drove across the town line, staring at the red line as it passed beneath them in the car. They both couldn't believe how easy it was for them to have crossed. "We're… we're here," said Belle, quickly changing her tone to surprise as she blinked in disbelief. "We've made it into Storybrooke."

" _What?! How?_ "

Indeed. How? They all wondered. As soon as they crossed into Storybrooke Rumple slowed to a stop and parked the car. They looked around the abandoned road with similar disbelief. How long has the spell been down? Was Lily able to get into Storybrooke, even when it was cloaked? Or was the spell down when she arrived? In her journal, it spoke on how gifted she was with magic. The Author even said so himself. Perhaps she was able to lower the barrier from the outside. Or maybe Lily was still out there somewhere in the United States? There was a lot of mileage between here and Storybrooke so it could have been possible. Anything was possible.

She could have gotten hurt, lost or kidnapped along the way. She might not have even made it here to begin with. Belle shook her head at the horrible thoughts. She couldn't afford to think that way. Both she and Rumple were convinced that this was where she was heading. If Lily ran away hours before they left for Storybrooke, then surely she would have made it into town by now. Belle and Rumple had to be hopeful and believe that their daughter actually made it into Storybrooke. Perhaps their daughter was more brilliant and resourceful than they thought.

But then why was the cloak down? Had Henry been compromised? Belle turned to her husband. Rumple looked back into Belle's eyes and they knew that something was wrong. Rumple leaned over into the phone that was still in Belle's hand and said, "Storybrooke's protection spell is down."

" _What?_ " they heard Emma exclaim on the other end.

"Emma… can't you feel it, in the air? Or shall I say the lack of it," asked Rumple.

The conversation fell silent as Emma tried to decipher what it was he was talking about. During that moment, Belle recognized exactly what he was talking about. If it wasn't for the fact that they were from the Enchanted Forest, she might have overlooked it completely. To the typical layman, there was nothing magical about them crossing over a town line. But that was it. They didn't feel any magic when they crossed the town line and for a town that was supposed to contain magic they knew something dreadful had happened.

" _Actually, now that you mentioned it, magic is… magic is gone! But I thought only Henry has that ability_."

"Unless someone else's magic was at play here," inserted Belle. Rumple turned to his wife over the surprised accusation. Belle continued, "Remember, deity magic doesn't follow by the same rules as magic from the Enchanted Forest."

"What are you saying, Belle?" wondered Rumple, curious as to what his wife was alluding to.

"What if… what if Mary is already here? What if Mary got here before Lily did and lowered the spell? That could be how Lily had gotten through," speculated Belle.

"No. Mary wouldn't have left the protection spell down. It wouldn't be like her to be so careless. It also doesn't explain why there's suddenly no magic in Storybrooke," countered Rumple in Mary's defense. It frustrated Belle to see Rumple so quick to defend Mary and not her, but that was an argument that would have to wait for later. Just like Emma's offense over their sudden phone call. Their goal was to find their daughter. Once they found their daughter they could argue till the cows came home over the error of their ways. But for now, they had to focus on finding their daughter. Rumple continued, "I think Henry's been compromised. We need to find Henry."

" _I'll assemble the family together and let them know what's going on. We'll search for Henry and Lily and we'll find them both. Until then, what will you guys be doing now that you're back? Should we meet somewhere?"_

"We're going to go search for Mary," stated Belle decisively. Rumple looked at her with surprise by her forward insinuation. "She will still have her magic and will know what to do. I have a feeling she may even have a way to know exactly where Lily is."

" _Alright. We'll keep in touch_ ," said Emma ending the call. Rumple continued staring at Belle stunned by the sudden plan she had sprung upon them. Belle noticed his lack of movement to put the car into gear and asked with frustration, " _What?_ "

"Belle… you might have to search for Mary on your own."

"Why?"

"Based off of what you read to me from Lily's journal… I think I may know where she is, but I could be wrong. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Where do you think she is? Why don't we search for her together?"

"No," insisted Rumple. "We'll cover more ground if we divide our search. I'll still have my cell phone on me should I find anything."

"Rumple, I… I…" she wanted to finish her sentence by saying 'I don't know if I can trust you', but she _did_ trust him. Seven years of her living happily with him taught her that. During those seven years without magic they learned to trust each other. It was practically second nature to them and it felt right, but this place... She felt herself falling back to her old ways of being suspicious of him. Magic always strained their relationship and it was the reason why Belle detested it so much. However, he was currently magic-less so she had to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even she had to admit that she knew how he liked and worked best alone. So she finished her thought and said, "I don't like the idea of us separating."

"I know darling, but time is of the essence. If we devoted all our energies pursuing one avenue of possibility at a time, we would never find her and by then it'll be too late. When we arrive into town, I'll drop you off in front of your father's shop so you can go find Mary. I know you don't like the idea, but if anyone sees me they'll be less inclined to help us. Trust me, they'd want to help if they saw you first."

She wanted to argue with him. Tell him that he was wrong about the town's misconceived notions, but he wasn't. She wanted to change the town's perception, but she knew she couldn't. If she couldn't do it in the few years they were there, then there was no way she'd change it in a day. That was the other reason why they left Storybrooke; everyone in town had way too much history dealing with Rumplestiltskin. No doubt they all would run away at the first sight of him. As much as she hated the idea, she knew he was right. If they were going to quickly find Lily, they needed to cover more ground. Divide and conquer. Belle shook her head before finally conceding to the idea and asked, "And where will you be going?"

"If Henry, Lily and Mary are still missing and Emma hasn't seen them around town, then that means they're somewhere in the woods. I have a feeling I know where to find Henry. If we find Henry, we find Lily."


	26. Time Flies

Lily sobbed for what seemed like a little while on the forest floor. When she became exhausted from crying she decided it was time to get going. She searched for the pocket-watch she tossed carelessly to the ground but couldn't find it. She kicked leaves and turned over rocks around her, but when nothing turned up she began to panic. She had lost the magical watch! She frantically looked around on the ground where she sulked when suddenly she heard someone cough to get her attention. Lily looked up and was surprised to see Mary holding the pocket-watch from the beak of her umbrella's unusual handle.

"Is this what you are looking for?" inquired Mary as she dangled the watch in front of Lily. Lily wasn't sure what she was more shocked over. Was it the watch that Mary was able to find? Was it the fact that Mary somehow found her in the middle of the woods? Or was it the fact that Mary looked much, much older than she remembered on their last encounter? Lily could have sworn that Mary was no older than her mother, but now… she looked as if she could have been her grandmother. "I knew the moment we arrived that we would be enjoying ourselves, but _really_ … it's very irresponsible of us to lose track of the time."

"You're… _you're old_ ," observed Lily so callously, ignoring the watch that was still on the umbrella's handle.

"Age is a privilege that is denied to many," quoted Mary in response to Lily's blunt observation.

"No… no I mean… you look _older_ ," clarified Lily, thinking she misunderstood her.

"Well of course, understandably, from your perspective I _am_ much older than you," retorted Mary in kind. It didn't really confirm Lily's suspicions. It only added more questions. "Let us not talk about age. In some social circles, the discussion of age can be perceived as rude. Come," said Mary as she condensed umbrella her and slid it through the handles of her carpet bag. When the umbrella was secure Mary extended her hand to the little girl. Lily gratefully took the old woman's hand and was assisted off the ground. It wasn't until the sun's light sparkled over the suspended pocket-watch that Lily finally took notice of the object.

"My watch!" exclaimed Lily. Mary's eyes widened over the excited clamor and lifted her carpet bag just out of reach of the excited young girl. Lily pleaded as she tried to reach for the item, "Please! I need that watch to show to my father."

"You can show it to your parents they arrive," redirected Mary.

Lily backed away from Mary with surprise and replied, "Wait… they know I'm here in Storybrooke? You told them! Didn't you?"

"I did no such thing. You don't give your parents very much credit, do you? They're a lot smarter than you think."

"So they're coming to Storybrooke for me?" asked Lily with astonishment.

"Yes and I think it's best for us to just stay together until they do. I had wanted to take you to this town's gorgeous flower shop, but then you disappeared on me. If I had known that you wanted to play hide-and-seek, I would have come better prepared. Believe it or not, I do enjoy games. Though…" began Mary with a mischievous look about her. She glanced at the watch and then squinted down at Lily as if measuring her ability to play along, "… I do suppose we have some time left to play one more game before your parents arrive."

" _You_ … you want to play a game with me?" asked Lily with confusion.

Mary knelt down to Lily's eye-level and asked with a smirk, "How would like to go bury some treasure?"

"Where?" wondered Lily. Mary kept smirking as she stood up and turned around. By the time she completed her about-face a quick fog rolled in around them. The fog became more organized and shifted into the shape of a staircase which Mary confidently started climbing upon. Lily's jaw hung open with surprise. "You _are_ magical! I knew it! You're-you're Mary Poppins."

"And you're Lily Gold. Now that we're officially done with introductions, shall we carry on?" retorted Mary impatiently as she continued to climb the cloud steps. Lily looked on with utter amazement and tentatively approached the cloud staircase. Her first step felt unusually sturdy and supportive for a cloud which gave way to another confident step until she was able to follow closely behind Mary.

"You're the person I read about in my book!"

Mary glanced back behind her on the cloud step and replied, "You enjoy reading books, do you? You know, you shouldn't believe everything you read."

The stair case eventually leveled off into a bridge, which they crossed until they found another staircase that brought them back down to the ground. When both her feet finally touched the ground, Lily turned around excitedly to see the epic cloud structure but to her disappointment discovered that the cloud bridge had completely evaporated behind her. When she turned to address Mary of her newfound melancholy, she discovered the elderly woman approaching the red line on the ground. As Lily followed suit she stared at the red line that extended for miles on both sides curiously. From where she stood she could see from afar the main road they had entered in from earlier and immediately recognized the welcome sign that was only just a stone's throw away.

"What are we doing here?" Lily asked as she followed Mary.

"I told you. We are here to bury treasure. This is all part of the game and this…," Mary said as she pointed to a hole by the root of a fallen tree trunk just beyond the red line, "is where we shall bury it."

"Why?"

Mary gave Lily a disgruntled look and replied, "Do you want to play the game, or do you want to continue asking me questions?"

Lily wanted to do both and hesitated, but based off of Mary's stern look she sensed the urgency. She didn't want to be on Mary's bad side, if there was a bad side at all, so she ran forward to the hole and watched as Mary dropped the pocket watch into it. It wasn't a very deep hole because it took no time at all for Lily to cover up the opening with dirt and spare leaves she could find from around the surrounding area. When the job was done, Lily stood up in place dusting the dirt from off her hands as she wondered, "So why are we burying the watch? Who are we hiding it from?"

"Who said that we were hiding it? If anything, we're burying the watch to protect it," reasoned Mary.

Lily was flabbergasted by Mary's logic and stood there baffled by the intentions of the game. Perhaps it wasn't a game. Perhaps there was some good reason for Mary to want to bury the treasure here. Mary hadn't led her astray so far. In fact, it was Lily who got herself into mischief. Lily stared at the freshly buried spot and figured that Mary was right. It wasn't like they were hiding it from anybody. They were protecting it. Lily reasoned that if she needed to retrieve the watch again she knew exactly where to find it. After a moment or two of heavy thinking, Lily grew tired of trying to understand and instead played along by asking, "So what are we doing next? Anything else you want to bury?"

" _Now_ , we finally go to that flower shop I was telling you about earlier before you disappeared on me," said Mary as she took her umbrella and popped it open. Once it was open, she then took the carpet bag's handles and fed it to her umbrella's parrot-beak which opened and snapped promptly upon reception. The bag hung conveniently as Mary extended her free hand to Lily and asked, "Are you ready?"

Lily took Mary's hand again and figured that perhaps Mary didn't want to lose her again to the woods. With the open umbrella Lily assumed that Mary simply wanted shade from the sun as they walked… but she was dead wrong.

As soon as Mary had Lily's hand a huge draft lifted the two into the air. Lily couldn't believe what was happening as she watched her feet dangle below her. Higher and higher they went until they were well above the tree line. They moved fairly quickly in the sky making it to the town's main street in practically no time at all. As strange and frightening as their flying experience should have been, Lily embraced it. Not only did she welcome it, she found it exhilarating! She loved it. It was liberating, wonderful, magical and strangely natural. Lily was flying with Mary Poppins and it was unbelievable.

Seeing where they needed to go, Mary dropped them precisely in front of the Game of Thorns flower shop. Lily's small feet touched the ground first as she stared at Mary's landing who landed gracefully and perfectly beside her. With awe, Lily stared at Mary who appeared, surprisingly enough, completely unmoved by their thrilling flight to the shop. Mary turned to look at Lily and found her mouth ajar which she swiftly corrected, "Close your mouth Lily. We are not a codfish."

Lily promptly closed her mouth as Mary let go of her hand to adjust her umbrella. She sat her carpet bag down and condensed the umbrella that was still in her hand. After closing her flying apparatus she slipped it back through her carpet bag and walked quickly over to the closest parked car. While using the car's side mirror she lowered her body to view her reflection and proceeded to check herself for imperfections. There was only one lock of hair out of place so she quickly tucked it away behind her ear. Then she proceeded to straighten her outfit, dusting away whatever debris she might have picked up during her travels. With a sniff and then a nod of approval, she turned around with a smile and retrieved her carpet bag. With another nod of her head, the door to the Flower shop magically opened. Lily stood there amazed by Mary, wondering what magical thing she was going to do next. Seeing that Lily was stalling, Mary ordered, "Go on." While looking at Lily, Mary nodded again towards the door again gesturing for her to enter first. "Best foot forward. Spit spot."

Lily tentatively and slowly entered the establishment with great trepidation. When she entered the building there wasn't anything special about the flower shop except for the large elderly gentleman she presumed to be the shop's owner. As soon as the visitors entered the shop, the shop owner looked up. Upon recognizing Mary, his face rapidly transformed from surprise to shock to complete overwhelming joy.

"Maurice," called Mary lovingly to the shop owner as she entered the building. With great joy, Maurice came out from behind his register and replied similarly as he beamed, "Mary…"

Maurice rushed over to Mary who had dropped her belongings as they fell into a long-overdue loving embrace. With a slight but overjoyed sob Maurice said into Mary's ear, "I always knew you'd come back."

"I told you I wouldn't be long," she whispered back, grinning most enthusiastically. They hugged each other for only a few more moments when Mary stepped back and noticed Lily gawking awkwardly at them. With her hands, Mary gestured toward Lily to step forward. Confused about what she had witnessed or what was going to happen next, Lily did as she was commanded to and took Mary's hand.

"Maurice, this is your granddaughter… Lily Gold."

… …

Like they had planned, Rumple parked in front of the flower shop with the car still running. He turned to his wife to connect with her one last time before departing, but noticed that she was looking elsewhere. She stared at the Flower Shop's sign reluctantly and for a moment they sat in the car in silence. When she didn't speak or get out of the car right away he said, "You've barely said a word since we crossed the border. Aside from the obvious," he paused for moment to catch a glimpse of her face, but when he couldn't he asked, "what's wrong?"

She couldn't explain this feeling of foreboding she had; mostly with her separating from her husband, but partially because she was about to see her father whom she hadn't seen in seven years. Nothing about this plan sat well with her. "I just- I just have a bad feeling about all of this."

Rumple leaned in and kissed Belle on her cheek. "Don't worry. We're going to find Lily, and when we do, we'll head home," he said trying to reassure her.

"Really?" said Belle hopefully as she turned back around to face her husband. He looked beyond Belle's shoulder at the Flower Shop's door and then back at his wife and encouraged, "It's important for you to see your father again. I'm sure he'll forgive you, just as how you've forgiven him. Just explain our situation and I'm sure he'll help you find Mary."

She nodded understandably and took Rumple's hand, squeezing it one last time before stepping out of the car. As soon as she closed the door she glanced up at the shop's sign and with a nervous sigh she gazed down at the door's knob ominously. Rumple lowered the passenger window of his car and called to her, "I have my cell phone. Call me if you learn anything new. I'll do the same."

She nodded again and grimaced as she watched Rumple drive away from the shop and continue down the road toward the woods. No matter how many times she told herself that things were going to be ok, she knew deep down that they were not. She had to press on. They both strived for the same goal… to find their missing daughter.

Belle turned to approach her father's flower shop when suddenly she heard a familiar voice call out to her from the street, "Belle?! Is that you sister?" Belle swiveled where she stood and saw Leroy approach her. When they faced each other, he greeted her with open arms and they both fell into a congenial hug. "What are you doing here? I was told that you had moved," he wondered.

Surprised, Belle fumbled with her words as she spoke, "I did… my-my daughter is missing. She ran away from New York to here and now… now I'm just trying to find her."

"Well, let's rally the troops. I'm sure everyone at Granny's would be glad to help. I'm heading over there right now. Emma's called everyone to meet her there to help her out on some emergency."

"I know."

"You know?" said the baffled dwarf quizzically.

Belle nodded as she admitted, "The emergency was from me. I called her earlier on my way over to Storybrooke. It's to help find my daughter. I really should-" Belle began to say as she gestured over at her father's door, but Leroy cut her off by taking her hand and declared, "Well then _you_ should be the one leading the charge. You know your daughter better than anyone. You should be the one explaining what happened and to tell us where to start looking."

Reluctantly, she allowed the dwarf to take her to the diner. She had to admit, if she wanted to find Lily quickly she was going to need all the help she could get; the more feet on the ground the better. "Alright, but wait," said Belle as she pulled back from Leroy and broke from his grasp. Things were happening way too fast. She needed to make one thing clear. "I can't talk for long. As soon as we're done at the diner, I must speak with my father. He doesn't even know I'm here!"

Leroy understood and nodded, "Fair enough."

After understanding each other, Belle followed after the dwarf and together they walked around the corner moving quickly into the diner. As soon as they arrived she was greeted by all of Leroy's brothers, Emma, Killian, Archie, David, Mary-Margaret, Ruby and Granny.

"Belle!" exclaimed Ruby, who was just as surprised as everyone else in the establishment to see her walking through the doors. Simultaneously, she heard people say to her as they greeted her with quick hugs and welcoming touches,

"You're here!"

"Welcome back!"

"Good to see you again!"

"You made it!"

"Hello stranger!"

"You came back!"

It was definitely strange to be coming back to this town after such a long time with open arms. Belle was so overwhelmed by the warm reception that it left her speechless. This was not what she had expected. And seeing the large crowd gathered together on her behalf moved her to tears. She honestly didn't expect so many people to come rally to her aid.

"Wow… I… I can't thank you all enough. I'm just so moved," thanked Belle as she wiped away a few tears from her eyes. "Thank you all for coming together like this to help out my family. It means so much to me. I'm just sorry that this wasn't under better circumstances."

"Sister," said Leroy as he came up to Belle and placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, "no matter where you go you'll always be one of us. And around here, we always help each other out, no matter if you're a hero or a villain. We've been through so much together…"

"…legendary curses," said Happy.

"…memory losses," chimed in Doc.

"…Not to mention, nightmarish monsters," added Sleepy with a yawn.

"Exactly! You're one of us, which means that you'll always be part of something special. We all share something that nothing, not even Rumplestiltskin, can take away from us," nodded Leroy encouragingly. He certainly had a point. There was something special about this place. Perhaps she misjudged everyone. Perhaps time had changed their feelings as well as their opinions about them. Perhaps the town wasn't as upset with them for moving away as she had originally thought. The warm reception was certainly heartening, but it made her wish that Rumple was there beside her. It was very convenient for the dwarf to say all these wonderful things to her, but if Rumple had been there beside her would they have been so welcoming? The very idea was enough to give her pause because there was no way to know for sure.

Everyone knew that Belle was married to Rumplestiltskin, but out of all the people in the room Emma was the only one who found it suspicious that Rumplestiltskin wasn't there with her. Emma knew Belle didn't come alone. If Belle was here and he wasn't, then _he_ was probably planning or doing something he shouldn't be doing. With the possible duplicity running afoot, Emma asked forwardly, "Speaking of which, where is Gold?"

"He's-he's not here," Belle said regretfully. "He went to search for Henry. He thinks he may be in the woods."

"How will finding Henry help find his daughter?" asked David, not following the logic.

"He believes," started Belle, but then she quickly corrected herself, " _We_ believe… that the reason why there isn't magic in Storybrooke is because Henry had removed it. It was how we were able to easily cross back into Storybrooke. Once he finds Henry, he'll restore this town's magic and he'll be able to find our daughter faster."

Despite Belle's response, Emma still felt wary. She furrowed her eyebrows with suspicion and said, "I thought you said you guys were planning on going to your father's shop to find Mary."

"I did and _I was_!" defended Belle, who felt affronted by the insinuation of deception. "I actually was just about to enter my father's shop when Leroy stopped me and said that I should be the one here explaining the situation to everyone. And he's right, none of you know my daughter or why she ran away to here." Seeing that she finally had everyone's attention she continued, "She's seven. She-she has dark brown hair and hazel eyes. For the past several weeks she had been suffering from these dreams these… _nightmares_. In these nightmares she envisions an alternate reality about all of us; about Storybrooke _and_ this town's magic.

"We were happy living in New York. As a family we were done with magic. Our experiences alone had taught us that nothing good came from even learning about it, so when Lily confronted us about these dreams of magic we had to deny its existence. So she ran away here hoping to bring back proof of it. Coincidentally, just the day before Lily ran away, Mary Poppins came to visit us. Mary mentioned that she was returning to Storybrooke which was why I mentioned to you earlier about my wanting to find her first. Her deity magic could help us locate my daughter. But to find her I need to know where Mary is, which I don't. I know Mary's here though. She had expressed before leaving New York that she would be returning to Storybrooke and the only person I know she'd visit here would by my father. He knows her. So that's why I needed to speak with my father."

Just then the diner's doors flew open and a little boy about the same age as Lily ran forward. With his short crew-cut hair and bright blue eyes he looked like a miniature version of his father.

"Mom! Dad!" cried out the little boy as he ran towards his parents. Both David and Mary-Margaret looked utterly concerned and confused by their son's sudden intrusion.

"Neal!" exclaimed Mary-Margaret as Neal hugged and clung to his mother. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at school? You're pale! What's wrong honey? What happened?"

"I-I-I was with Henry. In a cabin… in the woods," explained Neal who was completely out of breath.

"What were you two doing at a cabin in the woods?" wondered David to his son. Neal hesitantly looked up over at his father and then quickly at his sister. He knew about her lie detector. So he conveniently omitted by saying, "we-we were practicing… for my test… at school."

"Neal…," said Emma who raised an eyebrow at her brother. She knew he was lying. "Come on. What were you two _really_ doing there?"

Neal hesitated and then sighed as he admitted, "Henry was showing me magic."

At the comment Emma could see that he was telling the truth, but it felt incomplete; a half-truth. It was something that warranted further investigation, but later. Neal's petrified look and seeking help was taking precedence at the moment. "There was this girl. She called herself Morgan," Neal explained as best he could. At the name, Belle jumped in place. Neal continued, "She came in thinking that Henry was hurting me. Henry felt Morgan's magic so he took Storybrooke's magic away. But she was still able to overpower Henry with her magic! Morgan has Cogsworth!"

"Cogsworth?!" everyone in the room seemed to say simultaneously.

"Are you sure?" Archie asked. Neal nodded.

"How?" asked Emma.

"Henry had it on him the entire time," said Neal.

"Henry had it the entire time?" repeated Mary-Margaret in disbelief.

"Why would Henry keep that from us?" Emma wondered.

"I don't know. All I know is that she took Cogsworth from Henry and that she tied him up to a chair using magic! She kept telling me that Henry wasn't Henry, that he was this person named… _Arthur_."

"How did you manage to escape?" asked Ruby.

"She used her magic and moved us away from the cabin. She said that she was trying to save me, but her eyes… they were gold when she used her magic… and it freaked me out! So I ran away from her as fast as I could," explained Neal haphazardly.

"We need to find Morgan right away," said Belle changing the plans on everyone suddenly. Everyone in the room turned to her for answers wanting to know why. Belle knew that it had to be Lily, but part of her didn't want to believe it to be so. She couldn't admit it until she knew for certain.

"Morgan? Are you sure? I thought you said you needed help finding your daughter?" Emma asked.

Belle nodded and grimaced, "I still do, but if I could just talk to my father first he'll know where to find Mary Poppins and then she'll be able to help me find my daughter. Look, in my daughter's dream there was this Sorcerer's hat and according to the dream it is the most dangerous and powerful object in all the realms. It was retrieved by means of Cogsworth and nobody should have either of these items."

It wasn't a lie, but then again it wasn't exactly the truth either. The last thing she needed was the search for her daughter to turn into a witch-hunt. She hated herself for not being so forthcoming, but if lying was what got her daughter back safe and sound then so be it. She couldn't believe that she had resorted to lying. Already the town was making her say and do things she wouldn't normally do and she hated how it made her feel.

"Honey, I'm no expert in magic or in dreams or what-not, but how do you know your child's dream so well?" observed Granny. It was a fair question, one that Belle answered promptly.

"A while ago, Lily wrote her dream down in a journal which Rumple and I read before coming here. What Rumple believes she saw was actually an alternate universe. What I'm afraid of is what happened in this other universe. According to the dream, Rumple wore the Sorcerer's hat and when he did he became possessed by the Author. The Sorcerer's hat is a mind controlling device for the Author to inhabit and control people with."

"Woah, woah, woah," blinked Emma in confusion, "An author? What author?"

"This author believes that he's _the_ author to our lives and this hat is how he interacts with us. At least I think it's a he… Anyways, everything we've ever done, what we're doing right now, he believes was written by him or so he claims. All I know is that when the Author took over Rumple's body he ended up altering time, changing all of our stories including our happy endings."

"I am just having trouble accepting that there's this being out there that is writing what's happening, maybe even this conversation, right now," admitted Emma. "I mean, what about our fate, don't we have some control over it?"

"Fate is whatever it is you believe in therefore, it's whatever you make it out to be," answered Archie. "I don't know how much control we have over our own fates, but I do know this… the one person we should never stop believing in is ourselves. Whatever it is that you believe in, let your conscience be your guide."

"Well, whoever this author is, I'd like to thank him for making me into such a gorgeous specimen," joked Killian, hoping to alleviate the tension in the room. Recognizing the ill-timed joke, Emma looked over at Killian and rolled her eyes. Embarrassed, she said to her husband incredulously, " _Really?_ "

"No! We don't want to meet the Author!" cautioned Belle quickly. "He or she-she… is the most dangerous and powerful person in all the realms. So long as it was an interesting story, with a snap of his fingers he could very well change your life's story to that of a disfigured man," pointed out Belle who looked at Killian with disgust over his superficial comment. It was evident by his remark that he didn't fully understand the gravity of their situation so she ignored him and continued, "In all my research on Dark Magic, nothing has been able to lift Rumple's curse except for this Author. In Lily's dream, the Author removes the Dark One curse from Rumple. He's that powerful! So whatever we do, we can't let Morgan get that hat! There's no telling what would happen if she tried it on." Belle turned to Neal and asked, "Where is Morgan now? Where was the last place you saw her?"

"The last place I saw her was deep in the woods over by the playgrounds at the end of town," said Neal as he pointed in the direction through the diner where he just came from.

"Then that's where we'll start searching for her," declared Emma determinedly. At her word, everyone got up in the diner and left. The search party filed out of the establishment and got into their respective vehicles. People began taking off towards the agreed meeting spot when Emma noticed Belle going in a completely different direction. "Hey!" Emma hollered after her, "Where are you going? The woods are this way!"

"I have to see my father. He doesn't know that I'm here."

"Oh yeah. Right," acknowledged Emma as she remembered Belle's original intentions.

"I'll catch up with everyone as soon as I can!" shouted Belle as she jogged back over to her father's flower shop and away from the search party.

* * *

 **Sorry guys. I've been in the process of moving out of my apartment so I've been struggling to edit the rest of these chapters. Ideally I'd like to post the rest before S5 premiere, but we'll see. We're nearing the end of the story! Can't you feel it? And man! These next few chapters are pretty darn exciting. Or at least, I'm excited to share them with you all.**

 **I haven't overlooked your reviews and I thank you to those who did! Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma, Grace5231973 and Montreat11. See you all next chapter!**


	27. Deal or No Deal

Rumple took the old, but familiar windy path to the cabin in the woods. Of all the properties he owned he never thought that this would be the place that Henry would choose to practice, but according to Lily's dream journal that's where he'd most likely be. There was only one way to find out. His goal was to find their daughter and for Rumplestiltskin the only way in achieving that would be by bringing magic back. However, Henry controlled this town's magic and something was preventing him from bringing it.

He turned down the dirt road to the old cabin and parked at the end of the drive. He got out of his car and looked around the place nostalgically. As he neared the front porch he could hear muffled noises coming from within. Upon hearing the sound, he quickly ascended the steps to the front porch and opened the door. As soon as he opened the door he saw Henry tied down to a chair with a gag in his mouth. Thinking that he was hallucinating, Henry looked up at his grandfather and said with muffled surprise, " _Grandpa?_ "

"Henry!" called out Gold as he quickly came forward to untie his grandson. He immediately removed his gag and asked, "Are you alright? What happened?"

As soon as the gag was a removed Henry took a deep breath. With a heavy sigh Henry replied, "I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

Henry got up from the chair, but before Mr. Gold answered his question Henry was immediately wrapped up in a hug by his grandfather. While in the embrace, Mr. Gold apologized, "I'm sorry for not having kept in touch all these years."

"It's ok," accepted Henry who was still surprised by the sudden affection. As they pulled away from the hug, Henry continued, "For what it's worth, I think I turned out alright."

"I would certainly say so," said Mr. Gold as he smiled kindly at his grandson, looking admirably at the expensive suit he donned. "Baelfi- Neal, your father would be very proud of you."

Henry smiled in agreement and said, "I know. So, what brings you into town? How were you able to find me?"

"I'm here… because my daughter went missing. For weeks in New York, Lily had been afflicted with visions about Storybrooke and its magic. And these visions were so horrifyingly real that for a while she was afraid to even tell us about them. When she did confront me I made the mistake of dismissing her, telling her that Storybrooke wasn't real. I believe she ran away to Storybrooke so that she could return home with proof of magic. That's why I'm here. I'm here to find my daughter, but I needed to find you first. When you didn't answer any of your phone calls I knew something was wrong. I knew my suspicions were correct when Belle and I were able to cross the town line into Storybrooke without any issues."

"Where _is_ Belle?" wondered Henry as he looked around the cabin expecting to find her close by.

"She's back at town to talk to her father and hopefully find Mary. Since Mary is a deity, and deity magic functions differently than our own, Belle wanted to find her to see if she could magically help us find Lily."

"Wait, Mary Poppins is back in town?" Henry asked excitedly.

"She is."

"And that little girl," began Henry as he tried to put two and two together. " _That was Lily?_ " Henry speculated out loud as he massaged the area around his wrists where he was bound. "No," denied Henry with disbelief, "it couldn't have been. She called herself Morgan."

"And you say that _Morgan_ did this to you?"

"That's how I got tied down. There was this little girl who called herself Morgan, and her magic… her magic is something I've never encountered. I sensed it when she arrived and was suspicious of her presence. So for safe measure, I took away Storybrooke's magic, but she still overpowered me with her magic. That's how I ended up bound to that chair," said Henry as he nodded toward the chair he was recently freed from.

"Morgan…," repeated Mr. Gold as he smirked. As he shook his head he gave out a small chuckle, forgetting the fact that Henry was still in the room. It was obvious to Henry that Mr. Gold had realized something that he didn't. Henry didn't know why laughing was an appropriate response to his unfortunate situation so he inquired, "What's so funny?"

Gold knew of his daughter's story when Belle told it to him in the car on the way over to Storybrooke. What he couldn't help but marvel over was the other striking similarity that was at play. "Let me guess… she uh, kept calling you Arthur. Am I right?"

"Uh… yeah?" Henry hesitantly confirmed. How could he even possibly know that detail without magic? Mr. Gold's question made Henry curious and it begged answers.

"How familiar are you with Arthur and _The Sword and the Stone_?"

"Only what I've seen in movies. Arthur, Merlin, Excalibur, Knights of the Round Table…"

"You're missing one other important character to that story… Morgan le Fay. Now according to Arthurian Legend, she's not only a powerful sorceress, but a sworn enemy to Arthur." Henry stood there dumbfounded by what he just learned as Mr. Gold sat down in the vacant chair. "And Morgan… is also my daughter," admitted Gold as he gave out an exasperated sigh.

"She _is_?! How do you know?"

"Morgan is Lily's middle name."

"Woah," said Henry as the gravity of the news suddenly hit him. "Couldn't it… I don't know, be merely just a coincidence?"

"You'll come to find, Henry," he said as he stood back up, "that in the business of magic there is no such thing as 'coincidence'. And speaking of 'magic', if you don't mind…" said Mr. Gold as he trailed off. Without begging or bribing the Truest Believer, Gold gestured the air suggesting for Henry to bring back magic.

After taking the subtle hint, Henry replied with an, "Oh, yeah, of course!" and raised his hands, restoring magic once again in Storybrooke. Gold was the first person to be impacted by Henry's restoration of magic and upon impact was knocked backwards into the chair again. In an instant he was hit with a surge of power and his ability to see into the future was the first to bombard his senses. From Henry's perspective it appeared that Gold was suffering from a minor seizure. Henry cried out in alarm, "Grandpa! Grandpa, are you alright?"

Quick flashes of imagery came into focus and in Rumplestiltskin's mind he saw…

… _himself storing his magic and enchanting Zelena's pendant…_

… _himself hiding the pendant across Storybrooke's town line…_

… _The Sorcerer's Hat…_

And then curiously, a flashback…

… _he was sitting at his spinning wheel… staring amorously into Belle's eyes…_

… _and then they shared their first kiss…_

Mr. Gold's eyes flickered open and Henry's face focused into view.

"Grandpa," called Henry again to his grandfather as he supported his head and shoulders during the vision.

"I'm alright, Henry," assured Mr. Gold as he raised his hand for Henry to let go of his support. When he was able to sit up on his own again, he showed his gratitude to him by patting Henry on the arm. In the many years he had had that ability to see into the future, never did his ability make him look into his past. The whole experience was new and a bit alarming and it puzzled him as he tried to make sense of it all.

"Are you sure? I thought you were having a stroke or something."

"No… I uh, it's just… been a little while since I've had to use magic."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" offered Henry.

For a moment, Mr. Gold paused as he thought of what Henry could do. Gold thought of his daughter. He thought about Lily's dream. He thought about his vision and then suddenly a plan came into place. "Actually, there is something you can do."

"What do you need?"

"For starters, now that magic has once again been restored, let us meet back at my shop."

Henry nodded as he understood and in two giant clouds of red and purple smoke, the two men disappeared from the cabin and reappeared inside the Pawn Shop. Henry stared at his grandfather expectantly as he asked, "Ok, what now?"

"Do you have a pen?" asked Mr. Gold as he went around the counter over by the jewelry case. Henry walked behind the counter over by the register to look for one. While Henry wasn't looking, Gold quietly removed Zelena's pendant from the display case and discreetly pocketed the item. Henry shuffled a few papers around until he found a cup filled with writing utensils and pulled out a regular ball-point pen for his grandfather. Gold saw the writing instrument and shook his head dejectedly, "No, no, no. It's a special dipping pen. You might have acquired it unconventionally, perhaps… from a mermaid."

Henry blinked at the request and realized what it was that he was requesting. He knew exactly which pen he was talking about. Slowly and reluctantly, Henry reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out the pen matching Mr. Gold's description. As Henry looked over the pen one last time, Gold walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out Henry's _Once Upon A Time_ book. Gold placed the book down onto the glass counter and flipped its contents open to the very back of the book.

Gold looked up and saw Henry begin to hand over the unique pen, when something stopped him and he retracted the pen. Henry asked, "What are you going to do with this pen? What does this do?"

After years of running his grandfather's shop, he heard hundreds of countless stories about his grandfather and his treacherous ways. He learned many things about the way he worked and the one thing he knew for certain was that when Rumplestiltskin acquired things it was typically out of deception. Henry needed to know what his grandfather's intentions were before he consented to relinquishing the object over.

"I need it to find my daughter," said Mr. Gold as he gestured an open receptive hand to his grandson. Henry knew better. He knew that his grandfather was also the master and trickster of words.

"You didn't answer any of my questions," said Henry as he brought the pen back and held it closer to his body.

Mr. Gold scoffed and chuckled out loud as he withdrew his open hand and placed it down on the counter before him. He felt a proposition coming and this time, it was between two blood relatives who were both Pawn Shop dealers. Gold smirked playfully and nodded his head as he replied, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Henry replied back by silently staring at his grandfather with the face of upmost seriousness. "Alright," went ahead Gold, "Let me make you a deal-"

"No," said Henry shaking his head and cutting off his grandfather. "Let _me_ make you a deal."

Gold blithely shrugged his shoulders and calmly rested his clasped hands on the counter. With a carefree smile he stated, "I'm all ears."

"You truthfully and thoroughly answer my three questions and then I'll consider handing over this pen."

Gold was placed in an awkward position. Gold wanted that pen, but he couldn't tell Henry why. It wasn't because he couldn't trust him it was because he knew that Henry was a good person and it was in that inherent goodness that he believed Henry would never hand the pen over. Gold's plan did involve bettering himself, but out of context he knew his plan would be viewed as selfish. If this was Gold's one opportunity for redemption, he had to risk it all to try.

"I answer your three questions, and then you'll _consider_ handing the pen over?" reiterated Mr. Gold.

"Answer them honestly and thoroughly, and yes… I'll consider," clarified Henry.

If Henry was anybody else, he'd never accept the deal. In typical negotiations he'd read the client's body language and pick up on the many verbal cues to manipulate the situation or deal to lean in his favor, but Henry was his grandson. Henry was family and working with family changed the dynamics of his deal-making. Gold glanced over at Henry and saw staring back at him a reflection of his son, Neal. He saw Baelfire. The way Henry looked at him stung as he remembered what happened on his last deal with his son.

Gold was accustomed to deal-making, some more tainted than others, but out of all them this one felt the most taboo. Gold didn't want to see history repeat itself so on this rare occasion, he allowed Henry to make this deal.

"You know, you are my grandson. We're family. I have no reason to want to harm or deceive you," stated Mr. Gold.

"That's true, but that's not a good enough reason to trust you," Henry said coldly.

Gold looked down in shameful regret as he apologized, "Henry… I truly am sorry for not having called or not having been part of your life throughout these past seven years. I promise from now on I'll do everything in my power to support you."

"Do we have a deal or not?" asked Henry unemotionally. Henry was within his rights to make this deal. After all, Gold did leave this shop along with the contents within to Henry. Legally, Henry controlled every item in this shop, including the pen that was still in his hand. In the end, Henry held all the cards and the most power in this deal.

"Alright…" sighed Mr. Gold as he conceded. He never liked making deals with family. Somehow he'd always manage to break them or strain the relationship as a result from it. He didn't want to do that again so reluctantly, Gold folded and agreed, "Deal."

"What is this pen?"

"It's Excalibur."

"This pen… is a sword," acknowledged Henry incredulously.

"It's a long story."

"Elaborate."

"Ah, but the deal was to answer three of your questions," pointed out Gold.

"The deal was to be thorough," corrected Henry.

Gold sighed and then explained. "This pen is the most powerful weapon in all the realms. It's the Author's pen. The same kind of author that wrote all of our stories in this book," Gold said as he pointed down at Henry's _Once Upon A Time_ book. "They were written using this pen and it has the power to alter our fates."

"You do realize that you have a reputation for accruing power and that explanation right there is not helping your case in getting this pen."

"Ye have little faith," said Gold sensing his distrust. "When have I ever lied to you?"

Henry had to admit, his grandfather did have a point. Gold had never lied to him or led him astray. However, it didn't explain why Gold was dodging his questions. Running the shop taught Henry a thing or two about his grandfather. He learned about the kind of person he was when he wasn't around family and how he would siphon the happiness from others. Henry knew.

Finding everyone's happy ending was what Henry had promised to the people of Storybrooke. It was what he had worked so hard for and it was everything he knew his grandfather was against. It was for those reasons that Henry's guard remained up as he replied, "You forget. When you moved away I was still a naïve teenager. At that time, I knew nothing of your past and had accepted you from what I knew about you from Storybrooke. However, that being said, for the past few years running your shop, I've heard countless stories from all the citizens of Storybrooke. I've heard about your treacherous deals… each one more deceptive and more ludicrous than the next. I'm no longer that little boy, grandfather. I have to do what I must to protect Storybrooke."

"Henry…" Gold said feeling hurt. Henry paused for a moment as he quickly thought of his next question, "Why do you want that power?"

"I want to use it to find my daughter."

"You already have magic. You don't need any more."

"Look, you said it so yourself. She was able to overpower you without your magic and if that's the case, then she's more powerful than either one of us. I need this pen so that I can write out her magic and take it away… to alter her fate. She doesn't need magic. You've got to protect Storybrooke, right?"

Henry glanced down at the pen in his hand and then up at his grandfather as he thought of his last question, "Will I be regretting my decision to hand this pen to you?"

Mr. Gold took a beat to respond. While looking into Henry's eyes with an earnest face, "No. You will not."

Henry stared at him for a moment, determining whether or not he was lying to him. He couldn't tell. He had to take a leap of faith and trust his grandfather. He handed the pen over to Mr. Gold who gratefully replied, "Thank you Henry."

"So how are you going to remove your daughter's magic?" Henry asked curiously as he watched Gold lift up one of the blank pages that was at the end of the _Once Upon A Time_ book which was still in front of him.

"I'm sorry," said Gold as he callously ripped the blank page from Henry's special book, "but the deal was to answer three of your questions honestly and thoroughly and I had fulfilled my end of the deal."

"What are you doing? My book!" called out Henry out of shock as he snatched the book away from his grandfather.

"You can have it back. I only needed this from it. Again, I am sorry for not having kept in touch with you all these years and I'm sorry for not telling you my plans. I just don't have the time to explain it, but trust me… when I'm done with this pen, we'll all be better for it. I know that it seems out-of-sorts to be doing this to you in this way, but remember our deal. I _was_ being honest with you. You will not be regretting handing over this pen to me."

'Out-of-Sorts' was one way of putting it as Mr. Gold disappeared from the shop in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving Henry feeling duped and dumbfounded. Henry immediately regretted handing over the pen to his grandfather which meant, that he lied and that he broke their deal.

… …

Mr. Gold appeared by the town line over by the main road leading in and out of Storybrooke but never crossed it. He looked over the border with trepidation as he pulled out Zelena's pendant holding the bulk of it in his hand. As he gazed at the object, he hovered his right hand over the pendant and held it there until the enchantment turned the once emerald stone into a dark amethyst. He smirked at the change in stone color and then looked up over the border. He paced the red line until he found a recognizable tree stump and tossed the necklace. The necklace shimmered as it crossed Storybrooke's boundary and landed on a pile of leaves over by the tree he chose.

From within his coat pocket he pulled out Henry's pen and torn sheet of paper. He took a breath as he prepared himself with what he was about to do and disappeared to the cabin. Once inside he placed the special parchment on the table and wrote:

 _Rumplestiltskin acquires the Sorcerer's hat and becomes the Author to protect his family's happiness._

The Sorcerer's hat appeared before him, dissolving the paper beneath and he lifted the hat to his head. As he put the hat on, he wished and hoped beyond hope that his plan would work. He closed his eyes as the hat fell on his head. When he opened his eyes he was no longer Rumplestiltskin. He was now Merlin. He was now The Author.

Merlin waved over his head rendering the hat invisible and searched his body for more of the enchanted paper. When he realized that Gold didn't carry any extra he thought about how Gold came across the original sheet to begin with. It was then that he realized that it was by fluke chance that Henry's book even had one sheet left. He needed to get more to travel through time and other realms. There would be more at the Dark Castle. He needed to travel there. He needed Henry's pocket-watch and to find it, he would need to take it from Henry.

Merlin disappeared from the cabin and reappeared inside the Pawn Shop again. He looked around the shop and found it surprisingly abandoned. The _Once Upon A Time_ book was nowhere in sight and Merlin suspected that Henry had probably taken it with him for security. Merlin attempted to magically disappear again when suddenly he couldn't. Why? What had happened? Even if Henry had taken magic away again he would have still had power. What was this reason? Whatever the reason was for the hiccup, one thing was for certain; If magic was gone from Storybrooke then he couldn't use the paper or Henry's pocket-watch to travel. Merlin panicked. He's the Author! Surely his power supersedes the magic of this land, unless… there was external magic at work or someone had found a loophole to his story. _Damn that Rumplestiltskin!_

In his story, he knew that deities lived in Storybrooke and as the Author to this story he knew that their magic played by different rules. The Author had to think back on what he had already written. Somewhere something was already written, some rule that he had simply overlooked and was now bound to. Rules that were already established before this story took place. In this new mystery he found himself in, he left the Pawn Shop to find Mary Poppins, suspecting that she was the culprit behind Storybrooke's lack of magic. He would get the pocket-watch from Henry later, but for now, he needed to force that deity to bring back magic.

* * *

 **Thank you Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, Jennifer Baratta and ladybugsmomma for your flattering reviews on the last chapter! They were awesome! Gotta run. See you next chapter!**


	28. Not Your Usual Meet and Greet

Belle opened the door into her father's flower shop and to her surprise discovered Mary Poppins, Maurice and Lily all waiting inside for her.

"Lily!" called out Belle to her daughter as she ran forward and scooped her up into her arms.

"Mum-!" said Lily, but before she could finish the rest of her sentence Belle squeezed her tightly. With anxious relief, Belle cried into her daughter's ear, "Don't you ever run away from us again! Do you hear me?!"

All Lily could breathe out from her mother's hug was, "I won't Mama. I'm sorry."

Belle looked up to find Mary and Maurice looking on with joy over the reunion. As a parent now, Belle finally empathized with her father. Lily was gone for less than a day and she was beside herself with anxiety. It was at that moment that she realized the anguish her father must have felt when she had left him for Rumplestiltskin and the other time for New York. With a heavy heart, Belle sat Lily down on the ground. Without saying a word she walked over to her father with tears in her eyes and hugged him tightly. As she hugged him she apologized, "I'm so sorry for not calling, Papa."

"It's alright, my girl. I'm just glad you're home," he replied heartwarmingly.

"Welcome back," chimed in Mary as she rubbed Belle's arm. At the touch, Belle shuddered. Instead of relishing in the heartfelt reunion, the touch reminded her of abandonment to which she turned to Mary and said with frustration, "Mother, why didn't you let me know Lily was with you?"

"I did," Mary argued back. "I said so in the letter I left behind for you and Rumplestiltskin."

"Wait… _what_?" said Lily who suddenly caught how her mother addressed Mary Poppins. She couldn't believe what she just heard and became shocked by the news of her kinship to Mary Poppins. "Did… did you just say _mother_?" Lily stuttered reiterating what she thought she just learned, "Is Mary Poppins my-my… _grandmother_?"

Belle turned around to her daughter and admitted guiltily, "She is."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why hide this from me? Why hide any of this from me?" demanded Lily who was clearly upset and confused. Belle knelt down before her daughter and explained, "I have always wanted to tell you. In a way, I have always told you. I've told you every time I read a story from my library at home to you. Those stories on my bookshelf, they're not just fairy tales, they're about real people. You know the story Beauty and the Beast, the one I've always read to you?"

Lily nodded and complied, "Your favorite book."

"It's not just my favorite book. The reason why I have always read it to you is because the story is about me and _your father_ …" Belle gasped as she suddenly realized he wasn't there with them. She reiterated more seriously, "Your father! I need to let him know I've found you!"

"Belle," stopped Mary as Belle went for her cell phone to contact him. "It's no use. Rumplestiltskin is no longer the man you married."

"What do you mean? Of course he is. He's her father. He has every right to know," said Belle defiantly as she tried to understand Mary's cryptic warning.

Mary shook her head and sighed, "He's The Author now." _The Author?_ How did she know about Lily's story? How did she know that Rumplestiltskin was the Author now? It was then that Belle realized why she didn't like the idea of her and Rumple separating; it was because of this dreaded moment. What Belle couldn't understand was why would he make such a horrific mistake? Gold knew of Lily's journal. She was the one that read the passages to him! During the car ride, they learned about the dangers of the Author and his Sorcerer's hat, so why did he still go after it? None of it made sense, yet deep down Belle knew that what Mary had said was true. So what now? How do you stop the greatest Sorcerer in all the lands? Belle pondered after the thought but had no clue where to begin. After a few moments of allowing the news to sink in, Mary suggested, "I think it's time for you to enact the spell."

"What spell?" asked Lily and Maurice simultaneously.

 _The Spell! Of course! It could stop the Author!_ Belle knew exactly what her mother was talking about and confirmed, "The Impossible Possible spell… are you sure it would work?"

Mary nodded in reply, "I'm sure. It's time. Now you're ready to cast it."

As a deity, Mary had spent her immortal life loving every person she had ever met and it saddened her to watch all of her friends pass on from each world she visited. It was what inspired Mary to create the spell in the first place, to do the impossible and end her immortality. What Mary wanted was to be like her mortal friends and to finish out the rest of her days with her loved ones. So she created a spell to do just that but it was less than perfect. After many experiments, Mary discovered the spell to be extremely volatile, giving anyone who said the spell an obtuse amount of blissful joy. Something was missing. Mary knew the spell was perfect so the fallibility fell on the caster.

Nothing was more powerful that true love. So it was decided that Mary's true love had to cast it, but it still wasn't strong enough. There was one other caveat to casting the sensitive spell. Not only did Mary's true love have to cast it, but the caster had to have never seen her use magic before. The caster had to be strong in faith and since adoration and faith was the source to all deity magic it was also the foundation to Mary's spell. Unfortunately, for a beloved deity who was notorious for using magic, finding her caster was extremely hard to come by. The caster to this unique and complicated spell had to be equally unique and complicated which was why Belle was perfect for it. However, Mary didn't know that it was Belle until the day she was born.

One day Mary met Maurice and she fell in love. Life happened. Belle happened. On the day Belle was born Mary fell instantly in love and it was during that moment of love that she knew she would one day cast her spell. But Mary couldn't stay in their world. The wind, Mary's source of power, prevented her from staying. Her deity obligations forced her to move on to other worlds, leaving her without the luxury of time to wait for her daughter to grow up and cast the spell properly. Mary had to leave Maurice and Belle in the Enchanted Forest and it broke her heart to do so. So when the Wind brought Mary back to Storybrooke seven years ago, the reunion after many years of separation was less than joyful.

Belle grew up without a mother and it was for that reason that she was still short with her mother. Despite Belle's hostility, Belle never stopped loving her mother. Their love for one another was the key to casting the spell and they both knew it. Ever since their last correspondence, Belle had since forgiven Mary but the fact remained that for all of her childhood she was motherless and that bitterness never truly went away.

During their last meeting in Storybrooke seven years ago Mary finally confessed to Belle her spell, the Impossible Possible spell. When Belle understood her mother's explanations she insisted on enacting the spell right away, but it was Mary who insisted that she should wait. Not only was Belle not ready at the time, it wasn't the right time to do it. But now, she was ready.

Since that day, Belle never forgot about her mother and despite her distaste for magic she never forgot her mother's Impossible Possible spell. She knew exactly what she had to do. Say the word and her heart will do the rest. In her mind's eye she saw Storybrooke for what it was... a place without magic. It was a place where everyone and all creatures had no magic. Where her mother could grow old with her father and where she and her family could live and be together again. That was what she wanted. That was what she wished for and what her heart truly wanted. With the wish cemented in her heart and her mind clear, Belle closed her eyes as she said confidently, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

The air was still and silent. When she opened her eyes she looked around the shop and discovered that nothing had happened. "Did I do it wrong?" Belle asked doubtfully.

Mary smiled and replied, "You performed wonderfully."

Just then Belle heard some clamoring out on the street. The family huddled inside the shop, looked around curiously as they tried to determine what the noise outside was.

"What's going on Mama?" asked Lily with concern as the uproar got louder and louder.

"I don't know," said Belle as the indecipherable commotion neared their door step. To see what was going on, Belle opened up the shop's door and…

… …

When Mr. Gold abandoned Henry at the Pawn Shop, Henry was left flabbergasted. He had never felt so burned by betrayal before and for the first time ever he was angry at his grandfather. Never again would he trust him, Henry swore. Henry was about to take off after Mr. Gold to go search for him when suddenly his cell phone chirped. When he pulled out his cell phone he saw an egregious amount of missed texts and phone calls from family, all of whom were wondering where he was. He needed to respond to at least one of them and decided to call back the first person who attempted to reach him.

The phone rang in his ear until Regina finally picked up and shouted, " _Henry! Where were you? Where are you? Are you alright?_ "

"I'm fine! Mom, I'm fine," assured Henry as his own irritation waned. "I'm at the Pawn Shop. Where are you?"

" _I'm at the family vault. As soon as magic disappeared I knew something was wrong. Even before Emma called I already started looking for you. Did you know your grandfather and Belle are on their way into town?_ "

"I did…" said Henry as he disappeared from the shop carrying his _Once Upon A Time_ book with him. He reappeared outside his family's vault and hung up on his mother. As he descended into the catacombs he could still hear his mother trying to communicate with him over her cell phone.

"Henry?..." called out Regina into her cell phone when suddenly she heard footsteps coming from behind her. She turned around and after recognizing who it was she hung up and ran towards her son and hugged him. "You had me worried!"

"I'm sorry," said Henry as he hugged his mother back. "I'm sorry for many reasons."

"What on Earth can you possibly be sorry for?" wondered Regina.

Henry backed away from his mother and glanced down at the ground in shame. "Henry?" called Regina again to her son while gently raising his chin so that she could look into his eyes. The fact that he didn't respond right away disturbed her slightly and he shook away from her gentle grasp.

"We need to get the family together," said Henry forwardly as he backed away from his mother. He couldn't help but think about the pocket-watch he had just lost.

"Well, Emma's already rounded everybody in town to search for your grandfather's daughter, your Aunt Lily. That's why Belle and Gold have returned to Storybrooke."

"I know," said Henry as he placed his book on one of the bookshelves in the room.

"You know?" said Regina looking at her son curiously.

"I already ran into Mr. Gold… and Aunt Lily, actually," said Henry as he admitted to himself how he was overpowered by a child.

"You have?"

Henry disregarded the thought and had to focus on the task at hand. "If Emma's with everyone else then we need to find them too. This involves everyone in Storybrooke, not just family," said Henry seriously as he pulled out his cell phone to contact Emma. "Something terrible has happened and I need you guys to hear it from me first."

Henry ran out of the vault quickly which caused Regina to chase after him. "Henry!" cried out Regina in alarm as she followed him outside.

As soon as Henry stepped outside he pulled out his cell phone and began dialing but had no success. When his call wouldn't connect he cursed, "Damn! I can't get a signal. Mom…" Henry turned to his mother and directed, "See if you can contact Emma. I can't. Tell her to gather everybody and have them meet me over at the clock tower by the library doors as soon as possible. I'll wait for you all there and will explain everything then."

"Wait! What?" asked Regina slightly confused, but before she could get a response Henry disappeared in a magical cloud.

… …

Henry reappeared just inside the library doors and stood there staring out through its windows. In just minutes his family and friends would be arriving and expecting answers from him. He exhaled nervously as he prepared his thoughts to explain Cogsworth and how he lost it.

"Just come clean," coached Henry to himself as he tried to put on a brave face. He stepped outside the library doors just as the caravan of vehicles arrived at the building. He stood there anxiously as both his parents got out of their cars.

As soon as Killian, Robin, Mary-Margaret, David, Neal, Archie, Granny, Ruby, Leroy and his brothers arrived they gathered around Henry waiting eagerly for everyone to hear what it was that he had to say. Seeing that everyone had arrived, Emma looked around and initiated, "Alright, kid. Everyone's here. What's the deal?"

"I wanted to apologize to everyone… about Cogsworth," apologized Henry.

"We know about Cogsworth," stated Mary-Margaret.

"You do?" Henry asked twisting his face with confusion.

"What we can't figure out is why you never told us you found it?" asked David.

Henry took a breath and explained, "I never told anybody about finding Cogsworth because I made a promise to you all at the town meeting years ago, that I would find everyone's happy endings. When I found Cogsworth, Mr. Gold attached a note to it saying that in order to find the happy endings, I needed to find the Sorcerer's hat. I needed that time to investigate and search for this hat without having the watch tied up in town politics. It was unfair of me to do that and I'm sorry."

Silence fell upon the crowd. Some shuffled their feet awkwardly, while others grumbled something disappointedly as they accepted his apology in their own way. Regina looked around at the crowd and said diplomatically, "Thank you for your honesty, but Henry…" Regina heaved an exasperated sigh as she tried to think of how to gingerly express her disapproval. Out of stress, she massaged her temples with her fingers and continued regretfully, "As the town's mayor, I can't even begin to tell you what the repercussions are to what you did. As your mother, I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed in you."

"I know. It's my fault I let everyone down. In retribution, I will do whatever community service to make up for it."

"Sounds fair," acknowledged Leroy from the crowd.

"We will determine what your penance will be to the community service later," stated Regina.

"…and make sure that the punishment will fit the crime," added Emma to reassure the crowd.

"There's more," Henry continued bashfully.

" _More?_ " Emma said unbelievingly. "Geez kid, what else did you do?"

"I didn't do anything else. The watch," Henry said as he took a breath, "it was stolen from me earlier this morning. A little girl named Lily took it from me."

"So there's another little girl out there who may have the watch and this Lily is the reason you stopped us from searching for Morgan?" Leroy asked from the group of confused brothers.

"No, Belle said that _she_ was going to find her daughter," corrected Emma. " _We_ were searching for Morgan."

"I'm a little confused," interrupted Killian, "I thought we were looking for the Dark One's daughter. Are you implying that Morgan and Lily are the same person? Are we searching for the same person or two different people?"

Killian hit the nail on the head as he poised two legitimate questions. Based off of everyone's reaction to his questioning, apparently it was the source of everyone's confusion too. When nobody answered him, many people within the group began murmuring to themselves over the confusion. To their reaction, Henry confirmed, "Lily and Morgan _are_ the same person. Mr. Gold confirmed it to me and told me so."

"Why did Belle lie to us?" Emma asked out loud.

"She never really lied to us," pointed out Archie sympathetically.

"Yeah, but she never corrected us either. She led us to believe that there were two people for us to be concerned about instead of just one. She omitted the truth and omitting the truth is just as bad as lying," stated Emma who seemed to be stewing angrily over the deception.

"Belle is just protecting her daughter," reasoned Regina. Emma turned to Regina, giving her a scowl over the comment to which she replied, " _What?_ Are you saying that you've never lied to protect the person you loved?"

With her point being taken, Emma withdrew her scowl but before she could say anything magic disappeared again. It was an odd sensation as Emma, the dwarves, Regina and Henry glanced over at one another suspiciously. Nothing happened. No magic blast. No obvious wave of gold or silver engulfed them, just nothing. It was odd and then not odd at all. To the non-magical folk in the group nothing remarkable happened, but to the individuals accustomed to magic a difference was felt. With the notable silence that had suddenly fallen upon the group Mary-Margaret looked around at her family's confused faces and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Mom? Did you guys feel that?" Henry asked his mothers.

"Actually, yeah," concurred Emma.

"Did _you_...?" Regina asked her son, wondering if Henry was the one who took magic away again.

"No. Not this time. _This_ … this is different." Just then Henry looked up and saw through the crowd his grandfather leave the Pawn Shop. "Everyone move out of the way! Excuse me!" shouted Henry as he swam through the crowd to approach his grandfather on the other side of the street. "Mr. Gold! Grandpa!"

Mr. Gold ignored Henry and instead seemed to move with haste towards the Flower Shop. Henry jogged after his grandfather with a parade of people following behind him. "Hey! I want my pen back!" Henry called again, but Gold continued to ignore him. As Henry finally caught up to Mr. Gold, he placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him and said, "Hey! I'm talking to you! Where are you going?"

"First of all," said Mr. Gold with great agitation as he quickly shirked off Henry's grasp. "I'm not your grandfather," said Merlin. As Merlin glanced over at Henry and the crowd behind him a flash of gold shimmered in his eyes. It was evident that Rumplestiltskin was no longer there. " _This_ pen," Merlin continued as he flaunted the pen in front of Henry, "was never yours to begin with. It was always mine. And where I'm going, is none of your damn business." Merlin turned back around and resumed walking down the street, leaving a stumped and affronted Henry behind in his tracks.

"Henry! Stay away from him! He's the Author!" warned Emma as she finally caught up with her son to stop him.

"There's no magic here," called out Henry bravely to the Author.

The Author turned around and replied, "Don't you think I already know that? I'm here to retrieve it for you. So just stay out of my way! I'm trying to write a story here and without magic this story, this town, would just simply be too bland. I'm doing you all a favor."

Everyone in town followed after Henry and the Author as they continued walking down the street to the Flower Shop. Like a moving storm, the crowd and the Author strolled up to the Flower Shop's door. Merlin reached for the knob, but to his surprise, the door knob turned for him. Belle had barely made it past the door's threshold when she looked up and gasped at the sudden presence of everyone in town including her husband in front of her.

* * *

 **Ugh! This chapter was also another buggar to edit! At one moment I was like, screw it. It's not going to be the end of the world if it isn't perfect. Well guess what? I just had that moment and so that's why you're reading this chapter right now. I'm sorry if any of it was incoherent. Anyways, cheers to everyone for sticking with me in this story. Just two more and we're done! Will try to post the next chapter asap, but for now, see you next chapter!**


	29. TLK

Belle was shocked to see the sudden crowd in front of her along with her husband who appeared to be leading the charge. "Rumple, I-I was just about to call you. I found Lily," stammered Belle.

"Get out of the way Belle. I need to speak with your mother," ordered Merlin harshly as he pushed Emma aside to make his way into the shop.

"Belle, he's not Gold. He's the Author!" called out Emma from within the crowd outside the shop. The door to the flower shop was left wide open and everyone outside could see what was happening inside.

"Oh Rumple, what did you do?" sighed Belle disappointedly as he barreled past her into the shop. Ignoring Belle, Merlin stomped his way over to Mary Poppins and demanded forcefully, "Bring back magic!"

"Finding yourself a little inadequate, I see," said Mary coolly as she stood calmly and confidently by Maurice and Lily.

"I know you had something to do with this!" Merlin accused angrily as he shook a frustrated finger at her.

"No!" corrected Belle suddenly. "I did it. I was the one who took Storybrooke's magic away."

Merlin stopped in his charge towards Mary and turned on his heel. " _You?_ " he said with awe. "How?"

Belle turned around into the shop and replied, "If you're the Author, then none of this should be a surprise to you. In fact, you should know how I was able to do all of this."

Merlin stood there slightly flummoxed as he reflected on what could have possibly rendered this situation possible. "Mary's spell… You-you enacted Mary's Impossible Possible spell?!"

Belle nodded. She explained, "I did. You see, Lily dreamt an amazing story and wrote it all down. Every single word. When I read the story, I read about you and what you did. In this alternate universe that she dreamt, you boastfully reveal the limits to your power. You are bound to anything that was written before these moments and that includes Mary's spell along with how spells and curses are broken in this world."

Frantic, the Author found himself lost; lost for words, lost in direction. He even found himself stuttering in thought, "No, no, no! The story can't end like this! There's so much more of this story left to tell. Magic is the foundation to this story. Without magic, the story will cease to be interesting. I won't be able to write anymore. What will I do?" Merlin looked around wildly in the shop, numb with shock. Then he pointed at Belle and said, " _You-you_ will never see your husband again!"

"That's where you're wrong, because my husband is standing right here," replied Belle looking Merlin square in the eye. Through the depths of the Author's disguise she could still see her husband fighting to come forward.

"No! I am _the Author!_ I am not your husband!" argued Merlin as he tried to correct her. As Belle moved closer to the Author, the Author backed away nervously until he suddenly found himself up against the wall. "What are you doing?!" exclaimed Merlin as he found Belle's closeness a little too intimate for his liking.

"I'm finally breaking your curse," explained Belle.

" _What?_ " said Merlin and then suddenly he recognized what it was that she was doing. He gave out a nervous chuckle as he waved a nervous finger at her as if that would to put some distance between them. "Oh, I see. You… uh, think True Love's kiss will break this. Well, guess what, my dear, you're wrong! I'm not your True Love."

Belle shook her head in disagreement. "In another universe, you mentioned your whole reason for interacting with us; for creating the Sorcerer's Hat. You love the characters you write. You love us. You _truly_ love us. That includes me. I mean, why else would you go to these great lengths if not to be involved with us?"

"And you think I'm your True Love? It doesn't make any sense. Rumplestiltskin is your True Love. I'm just an author. This wouldn't work," reasoned Merlin.

"When has love ever made any sense?" justified Belle. "Just look at my relationship with Rumplestiltskin… who would have ever thought that a princess would become a maid to an evil and beastly wizard and then fall in love with him? No matter what version of our tale you come across that has always been the foundation to our story; a story of two unlikely people falling in love. If you think about our current situation, it's kind of ironic really, if not poetic. You're a passionate author, I'm a passionate reader. We're both lovers of the written word and two unlikely individuals who have also found common ground with each other. You say that this doesn't make sense, but the real question you should be asking yourself is _who could ever love a beast?_ Rumplestiltskin is my True Love which is why I know this will work because it's worked before. _You_ are my husband's curse."

"…and True Love's kiss can break any curse…" understood Merlin softly.

Before the Author could say another word, Belle looked lovingly into her husband's eyes like she did so many years ago and like last time, her heart pounded heavily within her chest. Belle leaned in and her face came slowly and tentatively towards the Author's. When their lips touched both of their eyes closed at the same time. A brilliant golden wave of magic burst forth from the couple and it pulsated through everyone in the surrounding area causing people to stumble where they stood. The hat that was once on Rumple's head revealed itself and then fell suddenly to the floor. An orange glow embossed Rumplestiltskin's entire body and then suddenly disappeared. When their lips finally parted Rumplestiltskin rejoiced softly and said, "You did it. The Author… the Dark One curse… they're both gone. You saved me. You saved us all!"

He leaned forward and joyously kissed her over and over again. The Author was gone and the Dark One curse was gone forever. Rumplestiltskin was no longer cursed. Henry stepped forward into the crowded Flower Shop and picked up the once dangerous Sorcerer's hat from the ground. Henry stared at the hat for an uncomfortable period of time which made both Regina and Emma look at each other nervously.

" _Henry…_ " said Regina as she stared at her son with uncertainty. "You're not thinking about trying on the hat are you?"

"There's no more magic in Storybrooke. It wouldn't work even if I tried. Though," he said as he looked up into the nervous crowd. "I think for safe measure we should just get rid of it."

"How?" wondered Killian.

Henry looked around the flower shop and saw an empty pail sitting abandoned in a corner along with a hand sanitizer bottle sitting on top of the table over by the register. With the hat in hand, he grabbed the pail and hand sanitizer and brought it outside the shop. People backed away from him as he stepped back outside and dumped the hat into the pail. Henry poured the hand sanitizer over the hat.

"What on Earth are you doing?" inquired Robin.

"There's alcohol in hand sanitizer. I'm going to use the alcohol from the sanitizer and use it as an accelerant to burn this hat once and for all," proclaimed Henry. "Does anyone have a match?"

"Here mate," said Killian as he withdrew a box of matches from his leather jacket and tossed them over to Henry.

"Thanks," replied Henry as he caught the box in one hand.

"Alright MacGyver, should we be concerned that you know how to randomly light a fire?" Leroy asked sarcastically as Henry quickly lit a match and tossed it into the pail. The hat quickly caught fire and was quickly engulfed in flames.

"No, when I took chemistry in high school a kid's shirt accidentally caught fire because he accidentally squirted some of the hand sanitizer onto himself. Besides in magic, chemistry is just simple potion making. And one of the lessons I learned from Regina was to _never use an ingredient for a spell unless you know the ingredients of the spell thoroughly._ Right?" Henry asked while looking over at Regina.

"Right," confirmed Regina. They all watched the hat burn from a safe distance and stared at it with relief. To everyone it was a relief to see the wretched object destroyed, but to Henry it was the passing away of something wonderful.

"So… that's it. No more magic," said Henry mournfully.

"I guess so, kid," said Emma.

"How can I fulfill my promise to everyone in Storybrooke if I don't have magic to find the happy endings?" Henry wondered out loud.

"Happy endings… Why are they even called _Happy Endings_? I kind of feel like they should be called ' _happy beginnings'_ , you know? I mean, the real end is death and since nobody died today I think you can count this moment as a happy beginning," said Emma, which Henry nodded to in concurrence.

"But what am I going to do now that magic is gone?" Henry asked.

"I wouldn't say that you're completely out of a job," said Mr. Gold from behind him in the back of the shop making everyone's head turn as he approached his grandson. "There are still plenty of people out there that need help and from what I hear you're very good in this business of helping others. I would imagine that would be just as good as trying to get everybody's happy endings. So technically I don't think you've broken your promise yet."

Henry understood, but he was still very confused. "There's just so much I still don't understand. Like, how did your true love's kiss work even without magic?" Henry asked while looking at Belle. He turned to his grandfather and asked, "Was that part of your plan all along?"

"It _was_ , actually, and I'm sorry," confirmed Mr. Gold as he glanced over at his wife apologetically. "I'm sorry for not telling either of you. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you Henry. I was afraid you wouldn't have understood and that you would have stopped me from succeeding." Henry gave Mr. Gold a dejected look to which Mr. Gold replied, "And you would have, too. But really, I should thank you because you played a part in saving me. You took a huge risk trusting me with that pen and I'm glad you did because if you hadn't I would have still been cursed as the Dark One and have still been tempted by the Author's power. But thanks to you, I'm free from both. You gave me the opportunity to change my fate and now it's a happier one. I couldn't have done it without you Henry." From where Mr. Gold stood he could see Henry blush and ears turn red. "I told you that you wouldn't regret handing over the pen."

"For a while there… I actually did," Henry remarked with a smirk.

"However tempting it was I actually never wanted the power," said Mr. Gold.

"Well that's surprising," scoffed Regina.

Ignoring Regina's comment, Mr. Gold continued, "Living outside of Storybrooke without magic reminded me of the man I used to be, and every day I spent living in New York I was reminded of the happiness I should have had with Neal. Belle is my true love, so there was not a doubt in my mind that she would have saved me. _Love_ … is the most powerful magic out there and exists even in worlds without magic. It certainly has existed for me when I was living in New York. Magic is love and love… was the magic I needed that protected my family's happiness."

"So…" interrupted Lily from beside Mary Poppins. She hesitantly stepped forward and asked, "Is-is it really you, Papa?"

Rumple, who was standing by Belle, turned and said assuredly, "Of course it is."

Lily ran over to her father and with ease Rumple scooped up his daughter into his arms. "I'm so glad you're back," rejoiced Lily as she kissed her father's face repeatedly. While being held in her father's arms she looked down and noticed something different, "Hey look! You're standing on your own two feet! Does that mean you don't need your cane anymore?"

"No more cane," answered Mr. Gold. "Not for a while I hope."

"Can we move to Storybrooke?" asked Lily bluntly to her father who appeared stunned at the sudden suggestion. With Lily still in his arms, he redirected the question over to his wife and said with surprise, "Uh, I don't know. You should probably ask your mother…"

"Mama, can we live in Storybrooke. Please? I want to live here," pleaded Lily as she looked over at her mother. Belle appeared displeased over the idea and looked nervously around at the people in the shop who were just as eager to hear her reply. As she looked across the room at the many faces, each one replied to her in kind.

"Not to brag, but there _are_ excellent schools here," mentioned Regina by the door.

"And excellent teachers!" chimed Mary-Margaret from behind her.

"You'll have a support system that's unlike anything you'll ever find out there in the real world," pointed out Emma who stood just inside the shop's door.

"With friends that will help and understand you," added Ruby from behind Emma.

"And family that will always love you," inserted Mary Poppins.

Belle looked around with mouth slightly agape, astonished by such an overwhelming and welcoming response. Until this moment, she never realized she had quite the support system. It was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.

"Please Mama?" asked Lily again.

Belle turned to her husband who replied while shrugging his shoulders, "Out of the mouths of babes."

Belle moved in closer to Lily as Rumple sat their daughter down to the ground. She knelt down beside her daughter and saw by the way Lily beamed that she was excited over the prospect of moving. For the first time in weeks she saw her daughter smile and it was then that she realized that their circumstances had changed. When they moved away from Storybrooke she thought that being away from magic was the best thing for them, but apparently it wasn't. Lily was unhappy and moving away had denied her a chance at knowing who she really was.

Putting her own feelings aside Belle had to do what was right. It was no longer about what she wanted anymore it was about what was best for Lily. Magic had always put a strain on their relationships with people, but now that it was gone it would no longer be an issue and Belle saw no harm in coming back. In the end, Lily's happiness was all that mattered so Belle looked deeply into her daughter's hazel eyes and asked, "Would moving here truly make you happy…?"

"It would!" said Lily excitedly. "Oh! It would!"

Belle blinked a few times then stood up in place to address her husband. "If we do come back, then what will you do? Henry's already running the Pawn Shop."

Rumple rolled his eyes nonchalantly and shrugged his shoulders blithely as he thought of his response. "I'll retire. Be a stay-at-home father."

"You?" said Regina while raising her eyebrow in disbelief, "You're going to be House-Husband? That'll be a sight to see."

"Yeah, won't you go crazy doing nothing?" Emma postulated.

"Oh, I won't be doing _nothing_ ," countered Rumplestiltskin to Emma. "I've got plenty of antique items back at my shop in New York I can bring back with me to toy around and fix up. Whatever items I fix, I'll bring them over to Henry's shop to sell. It is still a Pawn Shop after all. Besides, it'll give me the opportunity to connect with him like I hadn't these past seven years." Rumple turned to Henry and walked over to him by the register. As he patted Henry respectfully on the shoulders he said, "I think it's long-overdue."

"I suppose I could go work at the library again," said Belle trying to get on board with the idea like the rest of her family. Belle gazed at her daughter and told herself that she was doing the right thing. As long as Lily was happy, then so was she. Belle glanced over at her mother and father and saw how happy they were finally together and internally she felt happy for them both. Perhaps, she reasoned, this was an opportunity for her as well. She needed to reconnect with her parents and strengthen her relationship with them. If anything, Belle wanted to show to Lily the importance of family and she felt obligated to demonstrate that by strengthening the bonds she had with her own.

"Is that a 'yes'?" asked Mary.

After much deliberation, Belle replied more confidently, "Yes."

"So it's settled then. We're moving back," announced Rumple with slight enthusiasm. "But uh, first thing's first…" he said turning to Henry again, "Now that magic is gone, I may need a lift back to the cabin to retrieve my car."

"We'll take my car," Henry insisted, "You guys can ride with me."

* * *

 **Ok, for the record, I'm not 100% sure that hand sanitizer will catch fire. I kind of googled "Household items that are flammable" and went for the first thing that I would imagine would exist in a flower shop. And also, what did you guys think? Are you Wow-ed? Is this really the second to last chapter? Did I round out the story well? Did I answer any questions? Did I inspire more questions?**

 **I don't know about you, but when I thought of this ending back in April I was kind of blown away by the mere idea of it. I kept thinking, Belle's got to save the day but how? The answer was always elusive to me until I thought about True Love's Kiss and why it hadn't worked before. In my mind, the first kiss worked because Rumple was receptive to the idea of love and in that sweet tender moment they shared at the spinning wheel he thought about the man he once was and wanted to be for her. All the other kisses afterwards in Storybrooke never worked because of his Dark One curse placing a priority of power over his love. His curse adapted and learned as a result of that (True Love's first kiss) experience and unfortunately warped his beliefs and why he never believed she loved him. Part of me also believes that he believes he was never worthy of Belle. If someone was too smart and too gorgeous for me I'd doubt the relationship too and would explain why he says, "Who could ever love me?" "No one can ever love me?".**

 **Well, here's hoping my story was worth your time and patience. Thank you as always to Imusicluver23, Grace5231973 and Montreat11 for your steadfast reviews. I'm oh so appreciative of them and reading them always brightens up my day. Thank You. And now on to editing the last chapter!**


	30. Happy Beginnings

It was an awkwardly silent car ride over to the cabin with Belle and Lily sitting in the back seat of the RAV-4 and Rumple in the front passenger seat. Since it was only a fifteen minute drive over to the cabin from the town the drive wasn't as bad as it seemed. Henry pulled into the driveway and parked right behind the Cadillac which was still there untouched. As soon as Henry parked the car the whole family unloaded from the one vehicle and quickly made their way to the other. While Belle and Lily got into the Cadillac, Rumple fell behind to talk to Henry.

"I have something to give you," said Rumple as he reached inside his suit jacket.

"Really, grandpa you don't have to give me anything," blushed Henry. When Rumple pulled out the Author's pen, Henry realized the importance of the exchange.

"I shouldn't hold on to this," insisted Rumple as he handed over Excalibur to Henry. Henry gratefully took the pen from his grandfather and stared at it. He looked over the utensil one last time and with his two hands swiftly snapped the pen in two.

"No one should have this much power," decided Henry seriously. Pleased with Henry's wise decision, Gold gave a nod of his head and an approving smile.

"You're a good man, Henry. You're father would be very proud of you. I know I am."

"Thanks grandpa."

"It must not have been an easy decision for you… trusting me with that pen. I apologize for putting you in that position."

"You did what you had to do and I had to do what I thought was right."

"Well, you were right to be skeptical of me. Your father always was. I suppose it runs in the family."

Henry nodded and smiled in agreement and replied as he backed away to his car, "I'll meet you by the town line."

… …

By the time the Gold family arrived everyone from back at the Flower Shop had already assembled by the town line to send the family off properly. Belle got out and greeted both of her parents with hugs. Lily got out of the car and heard as she passed her mother and grandmother's heartfelt dialogue.

"Don't be away from us too long," Mary said dotingly as she caressed her daughter's arm.

"We won't Mary, I mean… Mama," said Belle as she hugged her mother, wishing her a temporary farewell.

As Ruby, Archie and Leroy came over to say their pardons to Belle Lily walked over to Neal, Emma, David and Mary-Margaret who appeared to be engaged in a conversation of their own. While the David, Mary-Margaret and Emma were talking with Henry and Killian, Lily approached Neal hesitantly. "I, uh… I'm sorry for what I did to you earlier. I really thought that you were in danger. I hope that we can still be friends?" hoped Lily as she extended a friendly hand to the young boy.

"How can we be friends?" Neal said coldly. "I barely even know you."

"But," started out Lily who was clearly confused by Neal's standoff reaction to her, "we _are_ friends, or er… at least, we were friends. In my dream we were friends." Lily tried to explain to Neal, but Neal was still very apprehensive of her and nothing she was saying to him made any sense.

"If it was a dream then it was only a dream. It never really happened. We are not friends," clarified Neal as he started to back away from the little girl, wanting nothing to deal with her. When Neal turned his back on Lily she called after him, "We have to be friends because friends know each other's secrets."

"I don't know any of yours," pointed out Neal from over his shoulder.

"Well, I-I know how you got your name! And I know the big secret you don't want to tell your parents."

The insinuation was enough for Neal to pause in his tracks and turn around to face her. "If you were truly my friend you would never tell it. Not that you could prove it. There's no more magic in Storybrooke."

"We'll see about that. I'll find proof. We're gonna be friends. Just you wait. You'll see," Lily threatened Neal.

"Friendship is not something you force to happen it just… does. And… just in case you didn't know, threatening to share people's secrets is not how you make friends," stated Neal as he turned his back on Lily for the last time. Saddened, Lily walked away from Neal and went back to her grandparents to say goodbye. Neal walked over to stand in front of his mother who draped her two arms over her son's shoulders as they listened to Emma, Killian and Henry talk about the anticipated move-in to Storybrooke.

"So are you guys ready for our new arrival?" David asked apprehensively to the rest of the group.

"With magic gone the Dark One shouldn't pose as a threat anymore," reasoned Killian as he looked suspiciously over his shoulder at Mr. Gold.

"He's not The Dark One anymore," corrected Henry. "His methods for doing things in the past may have been questionable, but now that he's no longer cursed I believe that his intentions have also changed. I think his propensity for good is the new norm for him. So I wouldn't worry so much about it." Henry looked around at his family and saw an unsettling unease amongst their faces and replied, "If it will put your minds at ease, I'll keep an eye out on him."

"Sorry if we don't share the same optimism as you do mate, but we've known your grandfather for a long time. You don't know him like we do," retorted Killian.

"Yeah, but you should know more so than anybody what he was like before the curse," pointed out Henry to Killian.

"There is the matter of what Belle said to us earlier… sending us on a wild goose-chase," started Emma.

"What about Belle?" Mary-Margaret wondered.

"You didn't notice how she conveniently omitted the fact how Lily and Morgan are the same person? Why would she neglect to mention that?" asked Emma skeptically.

"Well, maybe it's like what Regina had said. She was afraid that we'd hunt after her daughter instead of just simply searching for her. I mean, when we assemble a search party we do carry quite the motley crew," excused Mary-Margaret.

"Or mob… depending on how you look at it," contributed David.

"Exactly," concluded Mary-Margaret.

"Lily… is certainly different…," started out Henry as he thought about a question he needed to ask the little girl, leaving the group with an incomplete thought. He left the group and walked over to Regina and Robin who were in the middle of a conversation of their own with Mr. Gold and Lily.

"It's going to be interesting to see you walk the streets of Storybrooke again," mentioned Regina to Gold. "I mean, things have certainly changed while you were away."

"I'll say. I don't have to walk around with a cane anymore," agreed Mr. Gold.

"And you're fine with retirement?" asked Robin doubtfully. "Forgive me for saying this, but you don't seem like the kind of person who would enjoy sitting at home to knit all day."

"On the contrary," said Rumple as he brought his daughter in close for a sideways hug, "I was quite the spinner in another life. I know that it seems like a simple and obsolete occupation, but there's more to the activity than what meets the eye. It takes a lot of patience and time to craft something as intricate as the shirt you wear on your back. Spinning, I find, is very similar to making contracts. It's all in the details. A simple stringing together of letters turns into words. Words then become sewn and strung together to create a thought. And then those thoughts are woven together into a body of passage explaining with precise detail your original idea. I suppose that's why I find spinning so incredibly soothing. It grounds me on the simplicity of things."

"You could say that again," remarked Regina jokingly over Mr. Gold's verbose explanation.

Embarrassed, Robin admitted as he remembered, "I suppose that would explain all the spinning wheels I saw in your castle back in the Enchanted Forest."

"Well, we're not in the Enchanted Forest anymore. Magic finally no longer exists in Storybrooke," said Regina definitively, inserting her comment into the conversation as they all glanced at the red line dividing Storybrooke from the Real World. While giving Regina a confident and knowing grin, Gold replied, "That still remains to be seen."

Regina gave Gold a sideways glance. She knew her old associate well and even after all this time apart she knew that he had something planned with that loaded statement. She couldn't say for certain what it was to call him out on her suspicions, but she knew there was something there. Truthfully, she was glad for the intrigue he was bringing back into town. So with slight excitement, she recognized his mischievousness and acknowledged him with a sly smile, "As irritating as you were when you were here, I'm actually glad that you're moving back. This town was getting way too boring without you." Regina turned around and saw Henry, Emma and Killian coming over their way to speak with Gold.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you," said Gold simply, trying to redirect her suspicions, "but I'm afraid you'll have to search for your entertainment elsewhere. Without magic I am just a dull father with no intentions of doing anything eccentric with my time except to be with my family."

"Now _that_ I highly doubt," Regina said skeptically, seeing through his ruse. There was always an ulterior motive with Rumplestiltskin; plans within plans. As she thought about his comment some more, the validity of the statement gave her pause. _With his curse gone were his power-hungry habits gone as well?_ Regina postulated about it but there was no way she could be certain. As Henry, Killian and Emma made their final approach, Regina finished their conversation with her final remarks, "See you when you move back. Welcome home."

Gold gave Regina a nod and both Robin and Regina left the talking circle.

"Mr. Gold…," Killian said almost mockingly as he stopped right in front of him and his daughter. "It still doesn't have the same ring as 'Crocodile' or 'Dark One'."

Knowing that none of those adjectives were true, Gold replied shortly, "No. It doesn't." There was something about Killian Jones that Gold still found threatening. Perhaps it was the strange coincidence that wherever he was, so was his unhappiness. Or perhaps, it was the mere fact that he was still alive, when he should have killed him years ago. Mr. Gold kept his guard up and held his daughter protectively close, not because he felt the need to protect her but because he felt the need to protect himself from stepping forward to his old enemy and doing something he'd soon regret.

For the same reasons that Lily stood next to him, Emma stood just as close to Killian to moderate and the dialogue that was happening between the two. Henry encompassed the group and then stood on the side closer to his grandfather. The person he wanted to talk to was Lily and she was in her father's arms. So Henry stood by patiently waiting for the conversation between the two old rivals to end before he could insert himself into the conversation.

Unexpectedly, Killian said boldly, "I apologize for all that's transpired between us. As a family man now, I can see that my actions back then were… _crude_."

"Well that's something I never expected," remarked Gold as he caught a glimpse at both Emma and Killian's wedding bands. "Who'd have thought that married life would soften you?"

Killian winced at the comment and glanced over at Emma who was standing right next to him. While keeping his right hand free he reached for Emma's with his left and their hands clasped together. It was Gold, after all, who had given Killian's hand back to signify that he was a changed man. He looked back over at Gold and extended a congenial hand over to shake. It took a lot for Killian Jones to extend his hand to the Crocodile that once bit it, so it was a monumental gesture to have offered it to his formal enemy.

"Love," corrected Killian, "I believe, has softened us both."

Gold stared down at Killian's hand tentatively and then up at the Pirate. He could see the falsehood behind the Pirate's eye and knew with family hovering around them that he was simply putting on a performance. Gold still didn't trust the man, just as he was sure that Killian still didn't trust him. If anything, by shaking the hand it was an unspoken understanding that they were agreeing to not trust each other. It was a step though. A very small but necessary step if they were to at least tolerate each other's existence whilst living together in the same town again.

Without breaking eye-contact with each other, Gold took Killian's hand firmly. It was quick, but their hands shook only once before immediately separating from each other.

"Woah! I… I can't believe my eyes," observed Belle with utter astonishment as she walked over to their group in time to see them shake hands. "Did I just see you guys shaking hands?"

"You can believe what you saw. Two changed men finding common ground. It wasn't an illusion," confirmed Gold as he put on his plastic smile.

"And speaking of illusions…" interrupted Henry as he redirected the conversation back over to him. He turned to Lily and said almost apprehensively to her, "Now that… uh, magic is officially gone from Storybrooke… I guess it seems kind of pointless to ask, but… you wouldn't happen to still have Cogsworth with you, do you?"

Lily looked up to Henry and said, "I buried it."

"You buried it? Why? Where?" Emma asked.

"Mary… I mean, grandma and I were playing a game and we decided to bury the treasure… Cogsworth," stated Lily as she released herself from her father's grasp to look around the road recognizing a particular tree, "…around here actually."

Lily left the group and the rest of her family followed. Just off the road and across the red line Lily came to the familiar fallen tree. She went immediately to the hole by the tree's uplifted roots and started digging. In no time at all, she unearthed the timepiece and revealed it to the rest of her family. Henry stepped forward to her and politely asked as he reached for it, "May I?"

Seeing that she had no need for the enchanted item anymore, she handed the pocket-watch over to her nephew and said, "Sure."

With the watch in hand, Henry led his family back to the road where the rest of the group remained. Along the way, Henry couldn't help but stare at the item.

As Henry approached his grandparents, Mary-Margaret took the words right out of his mouth, "Does it still work?"

"I don't know," thought Henry out loud as he continued to wipe the remaining dirt away from the object's hinges. Belle, Mr. Gold, Emma, Killian and Lily all followed after Henry to the road to show to the rest of the group.

"I suppose it could still work," mentioned Belle. "When I performed the spell, I-I only imagined Storybrooke and all its citizens without magic."

"And if Cogsworth was beyond Storybrooke's enchanted borders when Belle performed the spell, then it could very well still possess magic," speculated Mr. Gold out loud to the rest of the group.

"I suppose there's only one way to find out…," said Henry as he held the watch out in front of him. "Cogsworth, take me to my Pawn Shop."

In an orange cloud Henry disappeared from the group. The rest of the group gasped in excited unison as they stared at Henry's void in awe, realizing at once what that meant for the town.

"It works!" said one person.

"We can go home!" said another.

"But this is home," said Mary Poppins. Everyone in the group turned to look at her in response. "At least I know that it's _home_ to me." Mary looked over at her daughter and asked, "Will I see you when you come home?"

"You will," answered Belle with heartfelt smile. _Home_. _Storybrooke_. Storybrooke was their home now.

Mary and Maurice turned away from the rest of the group and got into Maurice's car. Everyone else followed suit and did the same and got into their respective vehicles. They all left Mr. Gold, Belle and Lily by the town line and they watched as they all drove away to meet Henry back in town. Seeing that their farewell party had left them, Belle walked their daughter back to the Cadillac. Gold remained still on the road and watched as the last car drove away out of sight.

"Are you coming?" Belle asked checking in with her husband who appeared entranced by the road leading back to Storybrooke.

"I'll be there in a moment," he called back to Belle. "I think I dropped my wallet over where Lily found Cogsworth. You two get settled in the car. I'll be right back."

Gold didn't walk too far from the road when he came by the familiar tree stump. What were the chances that where Cogsworth was once buried another valuable object also laid protected close by? He crossed the red line and pulled out from within the pile of leaves the charmed necklace. He smiled gleefully over the discovery and pocketed the jewelry. When he made his way back over to the car he walked towards the back of the trunk. With one hand he held the necklace inside his coat pocket and with the other waved his hand over the Cadillac's trunk. Without touching the vehicle the trunk instantly popped open and then raised itself for him. Gold chuckled to himself over the new discovery and pulled the jewelry back out of his pocket to inspect it further.

"If we leave now, Rumple, we can miss Boston's afternoon traffic," called out his wife from within the car.

"I'm coming," called back Mr. Gold as he took a work briefcase that was in the back of his trunk and opened it up. He placed the necklace inside a hidden compartment of the briefcase and then immediately closed it. As soon as he shut the trunk's door, he walked around to the driver's side door and entered the car. When he sat down, he said to the rest of his family with joyful relief, "Let's go home."

The family crossed the town line and then drove the long journey back to New York. There was a lot to prepare for in their move back to Storybrooke and it was only a matter of time before magic was reintroduced into their lives again.

* * *

 _ **~The End~**_


	31. The Author's Note

**Hey guys! You made it! Well done and Huzzah! Thank you so much for reading my second installment to the** ** _Lily_** **series. It was certainly a fun rollercoaster writing it. I wanted to take the time and thank all who had reviewed and posted in the past for this story:**

 **ladybugsmomma, Imusicluver23, CrypticCobra, Mystics Apprentice, Grace5231973, Montreat11, SkyBlueSw, NatalieRumbelleOUAT, DNS Akina, BreathingintheSun, and Jennifer Baratta!**

 **It was such a pleasure reading and seeing old and new reviewers to this story. You guys are awesome. I learned so much from each response and I took each comment deeply to heart. So thank you very much for the wonderful dialogue.**

 **When I was writing this story I tried to take on a** ** _NeverEnding Story_** **style of storytelling, where (like the 80's film) broke the fourth or even the fifth wall. I may or may not have accomplished this (I'll leave you to decide whether or not I was successful) but I was definitely keen on Me (being the Author to this story) becoming the villain to my own fanfiction story. And the puns, oh the puns, were everywhere. Or as Rumplestiltskin said in Season 2, "When you see the future, there is irony everywhere."**

 **Yes, it's been a year since I've updated anything from this story, but I did want to let all those who followed this story know that the saga is not over. A week after OUAT S5 ends, I hope to post every Sunday a chapter of my new story. That's right, you read that correctly. The next story and third installment to the Lily series will be called, "The Vigilante". Be expecting to catch the first chapter posting on May 22** **nd** **. If you enjoyed this series, be sure to favorite this next one when it comes out so you don't miss out on what happens to Lily next!**

 **Again, thank you for reading and I look forward to seeing your review on "The Vigilante".**

 **~Skitzoeinhoven**


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